


The Trees with Roots that Burn

by NoWhereSub26



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Korkie is a Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi is a Mess, Past Obi-Wan Kenobi/Satine Kryze, Satine needs a hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:07:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 51,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25518538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoWhereSub26/pseuds/NoWhereSub26
Summary: Korkie Kyrze was having nightmares. He never really knew who his parents were and Aunt Satine didn't like to talk about them. After another birthday passes with more questions than answers as to where Korkie came from, he decides to look into his past himself, enlisting the help of a young Jedi Padawan to help.What he finds will not only put him in danger, but jeopardize his relationship with one of the sole surviving members of Clan Kryze.ORKorkie discovers who his parents REALLY are.
Relationships: Korkie Kryze & Original Female Character(s), Korkie Kryze & Satine Kryze, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Korkie Kryze, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Original Female Character(s), Obi-Wan Kenobi/Satine Kryze
Comments: 47
Kudos: 192





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> There simply are not enough fan fictions about Korkie Kryze being the love child of Obi-Wan and Satine. I've wanted to write this for a while and thanks to quarantine I was able to actually do so!
> 
> This is my first fan fic ever so r&r but please don't roast me. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

It was time to say good-bye. They had spent a full year on the run, dodging bounty hunters, scrounging for food and constantly on the search for shelter. They were her protecters, but it was time to bid them farewell.

Dressed, cleaned and healed, Satine stood on the platform of the docking bay. As good as it felt to be wearing clean, untattered clothes, she’d been dreading this day. A year ago, she thought the day her Jedi protecters would leave her would never come, but now that it was here, she wished it hadn’t.

So much had happened in that year. The loss of her parents and brother, her sister turning on the Kryze Clan to join Death Watch and the Mandalorian Civil War that killed handfuls of her people would forever take a toll on her no matter how many years would come to pass. But through it all, even after her initial protest, Satine had her two Jedi guards with her. Master Qui-Gon, a tall behemoth man, had such a calming presence wherever he went and seemed to always know the right thing to say in a time of crisis. He was like another uncle to Satine.

Then there was his Padawan learner at his side during it all.

Satine drew a breath sharper than she intended.

 _Obi-Wan,_ she thought to herself. He had grown a much wiser man from the time he first set foot on Mandalore. His hair much longer with his Padawan braid resting on his shoulder. He was quiet and extremely shy, but never hesitated to fulfill his duties. Satine had teased him in the beginning, mocking his demeanor to try and get some kind of reaction from him. The bickering and squabbling they done as enough to make Qui-Gon’s hair go gray.

But despite their rows, Obi-Wan and Satine had become so close to each other this past year. Maybe a little too close for a Jedi’s liking. They had created something within each other when Qui-Gon wasn’t around to notice, ducking into small caves.

The gentle way he would grab her hand when they had to flee or how he knew on instinct that her health and safety came first, even when they were directly targeted by bullets and gunshots. Satine shuttered as she remembered even the intimate memories, like the way his kisses hinted at his desire for her without overwhelming her feelings or when they made love that first time how she forgot about being a Duchess on the run and that hunters weren’t pining to shoot the fatal shot.

Satine quickly pushed aside her memories and took a deep breath.

Under her shawl, she slipped her hands to her stomach. She thankfully hadn’t shown yet and wouldn’t for a while. The only ones who knew were her closest castle guards and handmaiden. That’s all who would ever know.

Satine watched as Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan walked onto the platform toward their Republic transport waiting for them to board, her heart fluttering with nerves. Both had also cleaned up, changed into fresh new robes and were ready to head back to Coruscant and their Jedi duties.

They approached the Duchess, then stopped and bowed as Satine did the same.

“Duchess,” Qui-Gon said with a smile. “You are looking as radiant as ever.”

Satine couldn’t help but smile back, a sense of pride washing over her as she straightened up.

“And after the events of this previous year, I would have never thought we’d be here today, about to part ways.”

Qui-Gon nodded before opening his arms for Satine as she plunged at him in a bear hug, stroking the back of her head as he returned the gesture. Satine tightened her arms as she took him in one last time. He himself felt a wave of anxiety ripple through the Force. He had watched Satine grow as a woman and a leader over the past year. He watched her become stronger for herself and for her people and was truly sad to be leaving someone he had become close friends with.

“I will never forget what you and Padawan Kenobi have sacrificed to keep me safe,” she said, her voice slightly wavering. “I don’t know how I could ever thank you both enough.”

Qui-Gon kissed the top of her head.

“Becoming a strong Duchess and leading your people through peace and prosperity is thanks enough,” he replied as they broke their hug. “You are a strong woman and will make a strong Duchess. And no matter what happens, you must stay strong.”

Satine took a deep breath and nodded before stepping back and glancing at Obi-Wan. He had been very quiet, looking off into the distance at the cloudy Sundari atmosphere. He could feel her eyes on him and swallowed uncomfortably.

She had nearly forgotten what Obi-Wan looked like when he wasn’t covered in soot or ash and his hair a stray. Not only had he rewoven his Padawan braid, but he’d brushed his hair off to the side. He looked so handsome.

Qui-Gon, who picked up on the lull between the two teenagers, cleared his throat. His padawan had been nervous about their departure from Mandalore on their last night and Qui-Gon knew why.

“Well I better board and make sure our arrangements to return to the Jedi Temple are in order,” Qui-Gon said, placing a hand on Satine’s shoulder. “Though Mandalore is a neutral system, we are always a comm link away. May the Force be with you, young one.”

The Jedi Master left the two teenagers alone on the platform. Obi-Wan swallowed nervously again and suddenly looked down at his boots. Satine felt her heart start to race. She nervously reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear before hiding her arms back under her shawl.

“The day we both have admittedly regretted has come to part ways,” she managed to say. “Who knew that saying good-bye would be this hard?”

Obi-Wan sighed back and nodded.

“When I first arrived on Mandalore, I was convinced this would be another textbook mission to keep you safe,” he responded. “To say I was wrong is an understatement.”

They both looked into each other’s eyes for a moment, before Satine was wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close. Obi-Wan hesitated, then wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tight. Tears were starting to form in his eyes as he took in every last bit of Satine he could from the comfort of her hug to the soft aroma from the shampoo in her hair.

Satine gently ran her hand through his hair as she held him, suppressing a sob as she drank him in one last time.

“Obi-Wan?”

“Hm?”

“I-” she froze.

Should she tell him? Should she disclose her pregnancy to him and that he was the father?

She didn’t know how he would take the news. Would this make him stay on Mandalore with her? Would he abandon the Jedi to be with her and their unborn child?

Obi-Wan was holding his breath. Was she going to ask him to stay? Was she going to give-in and ask him to abandon the Code and start a new life with her? They could be happy together, without the supervision of a protecting Jedi Master or the constant running from a bounty hunter. They could have a future with each other and a family to keep the memory of the Kryze Clan alive. It would be perfect. It would be too perfect.

He reached out into the Force, hoping he could get some idea about what she was going to say but he couldn’t tell if she was more nervous or sad.

Satine squeezed her eyes shut as a tear rolled down her cheek. No. They couldn’t be together. Not like this. It was Obi-Wan’s dream to be a Jedi Master, one that he never thought could come true until Qui-Gon took him under his wing to train him. And for Satine, her people needed her now more than ever. There was so much rebuilding to do, from abandoning the ways of the culture’s violent past to restoring peace and order. She needed to give her full attention to restoring Mandalore as one of the last surviving members of the Kryze Clan and the planet’s first pacifist leader.

“I wish you and Qui-Gon safe travels home,” she finally said as they pulled away from each other. “And good luck on your path to becoming a Jedi Knight.”

Obi-Wan felt his heart sink to his stomach, but did his best to return a smile.

“Thank you, Duchess,” he said, bowing once more. He opened his mouth to say more but Qui-Gon had announced from the boarding ramp that it was time to leave. Obi-Wan and Satine’s faces both fell.

“I have to go,” Obi-Wan finally said. Satine nodded, standing up on her toes and kissing his cheek quickly.

“Promise you’ll write when you get the chance?” she asked quickly. Obi-Wan froze for a second, trying to find his courage to speak.

“Of course,” Obi-Wan said, still shaken. “I’ll write as soon as I get to the Temple.”

Satine smiled and drew another deep breath as she watched Obi-Wan walk toward the ship, tall and proud like the Jedi he was going to become.

She folded her hands under her shawl and held them tightly as the ramp closed. Her tears were now rolling quickly and heavily down her cheeks as the engine’s started and the ship rose off the platform.

 _Stay strong, stay strong,_ she thought to herself as her bottom lip trembled. Her hands found their way to her belly again as she fought to control her emotions. She now alone, with only her government, her people and unborn baby, who’s true identity would never be revealed to the public not only for its safety, but for Obi-Wan’s as well.

“The only way,” Satine said weakly as the military transport ship became a mere speckle of dust among the clouds of the Sundari skyline.

***

Satine was able to carry her baby to term fully in secret. Any suspicion that arose was immediately dismissed. Her handmaidens would carefully select clothes that masked her growing belly and diverted any attention that could lead someone to think she was expecting.

Mandalore was starting to thrive again as well. The city itself was being restored to its former beauty as Satine continued to advocate for her pacifist ways and Mandalore’s neutral future.

But it was tough and despite objections from the people here and there, a new peace and restored order had slowly fallen over the planet. Death Watch had surrendered its fight to take over the planet and anyone who refused to comply to the system’s new pacifist ways were exiled to the moon Concordia.

Things were finally looking up for the planet and the Duchess. Her staff trusted her instincts and looked up to her decisions while upholding the new peaceful ways of life she’d instilled among the government.

She received holomessages from Obi-Wan and read them during the rare times she was alone resting. The letters were always few and far between, but he had never promised her consistency. She had to admit she was happy to hear from him at all. Every letter she cherished, from long pages detailing his adventures with Qui-Gon or brief little paragraphs with interesting facts and stories he would come upon during his Jedi studies.

Her favorite was longer than usual, dictating Obi-Wan’s many reasons as to why he will never fly again.

Any letter Obi-Wan sent, Satine would send one in return with an update on Mandalore’s restoration progress and what was next in the government rehabilitation. Every time she sat down at her desk scribbling down what to say to the Jedi Padawan, she would pause and consider telling Obi-Wan about their child.

Every time she came to this, she would feel the baby kick at her.

 _He deserves to know,_ the baby seemed to be telling her. She knew how Obi-Wan would react. He would abandon his studies at the Temple and leave his Jedi ways behind him to take full responsibility for all of them. The training he received from Qui-Gon would be forgotten all so he could come and raise a child that wasn’t supposed to be conceived in the first place.

Satine rested a hand over her growing stomach. She couldn’t bring herself to write the words or even request for a talk over the hologram to explain. She would often think on the star-filled nights that Obi-Wan told her about how he was almost abandoned by the Jedi as a lost cause. She remembered the twinkling in his eyes as he reminisced about the day Qui-Gon decided to take him under his wing. It was Obi-Wan’s dream to become a Jedi Master and Satine knew that this news and him being asked to leave the Jedi would crush him physically and mentally.

So, she pushed the thought aside, and continued her letter. Maybe she would tell Obi-Wan after she had the child. Or maybe she wouldn’t tell him at all. No matter what, there was no one she could turn to on how to handle the situation.

When Satine had learned the news of her pregnancy, the option of termination was given but Satine refused. She knew she wasn’t ready to be a mother, let alone a single mother for that matter, but if any kind of word were to leak about an abortion, her pacifist beliefs would be discredited and her people would see her as a fraud.

There was too much at stake. Satine would carry the baby to term and when the time was right, she would make the final decision of the child’s fate when the time came.


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't fully decided where this story fits in during The Clone Wars yet, but it's definitely after Season Two. It will make more sense as the story goes on, so stick with me.
> 
> In this chapter, we see a little more of the relationship between Satine and Korkie with a little more explanation of what happened after Satine's pregnancy. 
> 
> Enjoy!

It was early. He didn’t know what time it was but it was but not time for his alarm to go off.

Korkie Kryze was sleeping, or trying to when he heard rustling and footsteps from somewhere in the bedroom.

 _Maybe it’s Amis sleepwalking again,_ he thought to himself as he shook off the disturbance and tried to return to his deep sleep. He was on the brink being sleep again when he heard another rustle followed by someone making a shushing noise.

“It’s supposed to be a surprise, nitwit!” someone whispered angrily. It sounded like Soniee.

“Sorry!” the response came in another angry whisper. “It’s dark as shit in here and I can’t see!”

Korkie’s curiosity got the better of him as he rolled to his other side and reached for the lamp switch. He yanked at the cord to find his three best friends huddled around the dorm room table frozen in place. The table had sliced fruits, bread and ration bars on a plate in the middle with a large pitcher filled with what looked to be juice.

“What’s going on?” Korkie asked.

His three friends, all still in their night clothes, stuttered as they straightened up and with a jazzy arm gesture, loudly whispered, “Happy birthday!”

“We were hoping your alarm would wake you up and then you’d see our breakfast but Amis appears to have trouble keeping quiet,” Lagos said shooting him a look. “But this works too. We wanted to be the first to tell you happy birthday.”

Korkie rubbed his eyes as he hopped down from his bunk to join his friends at the little table.

“This is wonderful, thank you,” he said blushing as he piled the fruit and a piece of bread on his tiny plate. “Best friends I could've ever asked for.”

The four teenagers began to eat their very early breakfast. They still had 30 minutes until they had to prepare for school, the perfect amount of time to celebrate their friends’ birthday.

“So what do you plan to do after classes?” Amis asked, shoveling a piece of bread into his mouth.

“What I do on every birthday really,” Korkie responded with a sigh. “I’ll go to class, then my Aunt Satine will have one of her palace handmaidens bring me to the palace where we will have my birthday dinner like always.”

Korkie’s friends looked around at each other, then nervously at their friend.

“I thought you enjoyed birthday dinner with your Auntie,” Soniee said. “You’ve looked forward to it every year as far as I can remember.”

“I know, and I am,” Korkie said. “It’s just… this time feels different. I don’t know maybe I’m just not in the right mood for a birthday.”

Korkie took a bite of his bread, each of his friends continuing to give him concerned looks. In truth, there was something more. Lately, Korkie had been having dreams. They weren’t nightmares but they stoked his curiosity and it was the same dream over and over every few nights.

Korkie would be in the main hall of the school dressed in his finest school clothes. It was parents’ day where students’s families could come and see the progress being made at the school and everyone had a family. Except Korkie.

He would be standing in the middle of a room filled with reunited families, looking for his own to lunge at with arms wide open for a big hug. And then he would see them, a man and a woman calling his name, only for him to turn and see a bright flash of light that would pull him back to reality. Korkie never knew his parents. Aunt Satine had told him they died right after he was born in a crossfire of an attempt to overthrow Clan Kryze. But she would never say any more than that.

“I’ve been thinking about my past,” Korkie finally said. “Specifically my parents.”

“I thought your Aunt Satine told you everything about them,” Lagos said gently. “That they were killed.”

“I know but for some reason, it feels there’s a detail that she’s not telling me,” Korkie said. “In the times I have brought them up, wanting to know more, she is quick to change the subject. And I just don’t understand.”

Amis sighed.

“Well, you are a year older now,” he offered. “Maybe you could try asking again, but with a different approach. Like asking what your mother liked to wear or what your father did in his free time. Little things.”

Korkie nodded and sighed as he finished his breakfast. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the alarm clock went off. It was time to get ready for classes. As the teenagers cleaned up their breakfast, Korkie began to ponder this idea. He had never asked specific questions before. He didn’t think he could without upsetting his aunt.

“It’s worth a shot,” Korkie finally said as the students walked down the hall to their classrooms. “It’s better than not trying at all.”

***

Satine had made it essential over the years to have frequent dinners with her nephew as much as possible. They were never consistent and always being rescheduled, but to prevent from either giving up on meeting at all, Satine made sure that every year, on his birthday, they would have dinner together at the palace, just the two of them.

The dinners were always simple, per request by Korkie, just the two of them in the grand dining room, no guests other than family (which there were none) and two hours to catch up with each other.

The dinner was always a roast of some kind (Korkie never bothered to ask), with fresh vegetables and a bisque soup and toasted bread. Not the most exquisite meal offered by the palace kitchens, but Korkie didn’t need anything more than a warm meal that wasn’t mass cooked by the school’s kitchens.

Satine and Korkie sat across from each other at the large dining table. It spanned nearly the entire length of the even larger dining room, with a softly lit chandelier right in the middle over the two. Korkie had always admired this room. Not everyone had the privilege to dine with the Duchess in the palace’s most exclusive room.

They ate their food quietly, with Satine piping in with some news or happenings coming up every now and then.

“Some senators will be arriving in the next week to come and discuss matters of the Council of Neutral Systems,” she said before taking a bite of her roast. “Some new faces from planets wishing to also remain neutral from this war.”

Korkie nodded.

“There will also be a big dinner for all of the members and their families to get to know one another better and for people to see Mandalore’s progress,” she added. Korkie nodded again. “Would you like to come as my honored guest?”

Another nod from Korkie. Satine took a bite of another piece of the roast, studying her nephew carefully. He had been quiet all evening. Normally at their dinners, Satine couldn’t stop Korkie from talking about the things happening at school or the shenanigans he and his friends got into after hours. But not today. Today, he was silent.

“Something wrong with the roast, my dear?” she asked thoughtfully. Korkie looked up from his plate, where he had been rearranging his food unintentionally.

“No, Auntie,” he said quietly. His other hand was sitting in his lap, fidgeting with the fabric of his school tunic. He kept resisting the urge to ask, or tell Satine about his dream out of fear that she would shut him out again.

“Are you ill?” she asked, trying again, only to receive a shake of the head from her nephew. “Korkie, you know you can always talk to me when something isn’t right.”

“I know,” he said, continuing to rearrange the food on his plate. By now it was a befuddled mess of vegetables covered in the gravy of the roast and the toasted bread now soft from being so close to the steaming food.

“I have a question,” he said finally, putting down his fork and looking up at Satine for the first time that night.

“And I might have an answer,” she said, placing her utensils on the table as well.

“I’m a year older now,” he said, receiving a nod from Satine. “And you always told me that when I’m older, I will be able to handle more knowledge to help me grow.”

Satine raised an eyebrow. “Yes, I did say that.”

Korkie felt his hear pound inside his chest and his fidgeting hand was now trying to keep his restless leg from tapping itself right off. _Ask her!_ he yelled at himself.

“So, I was wondering, because I’m a year older, if you could tell me more about my parents,” he finished his sentence and immediately drew in a breath, looking down on his lap to avoid eye contact with his aunt. He could feel her eyes on him, studying his actions as she contemplated what he’d just said.

She took in a deep breath and felt her stomach drop. She should’ve known he would ask again. She should’ve known that he would never stop asking. She also should’ve been better prepared to give him an answer. She let out the breath and looked away from her nephew, quickly trying to think of what to tell him.

“I’ve told you what I know,” she said quietly, eyes closing. “Korkie, you understand that this topic is very painful for me.”

 _Bad answer,_ she thought, immediately regretting her choice of words.

“But I want to know more,” Korkie said, looking up at Satine. Now he felt frustrated all over again, his hands balling into fists trying to stay under control but it wasn’t helping. “I want to know what my father was like or what my mother did during her free time. Did Father like the outdoors? What was my mother’s favorite meal? Surely, you’d be able to tell me simple things like that! And it’s not like I can ask Aunt Bo for Force sake.”

Satine looked up at her nephew, her eyes glistening with tears that crept from their ducts. She really had not thought this fully through.

“Please, Korkie,” she said quietly. “Not tonight.”

Korkie saw the hurt in his aunt’s eyes. He had pushed too far.

 _Damn,_ he said as he relaxed his hands and softened his face. “I’m sorry auntie, I didn’t mean-“

Satine didn’t let him finish before she spoke up herself.

“I think we’re about finished with our meal,” she said wiping at her eyes. “I’m feeling rather tired at the moment. I’ll have one of the guards take you home.”

Satine stood from her chair and began to walk toward the door out of the dining room, leaving Korkie alone.

She started to exit from the room before slightly turning back to him and quietly saying, “Happy birthday, Korkie.”

*******

Satine barely made it to her bedroom before heavy tears were sliding down her face. She hadn’t meant to run out of his birthday dinner but she couldn’t help it. The emotions and the hurt surrounding Korkie’s birth were still too fresh in her mind, even after all these years.

They had only worsened when Obi-Wan came to Mandalore a mere few months ago. She could still hear the memory of his voice from that night on the _Coronet_.

“ _Had you said the word, I would have left the Jedi Order,_ ” he had said, lowering his lightsaber. They were words she had always wanted to hear since the day he left Mandalore with Qui-Gon. But they both knew that their loyalties required them to be elsewhere. Even after all these years of seeing each other and knowing that their feelings toward the other remained the same, she still could never have asked Obi-Wan to stay.

Occasionally her mind would dwell back on the day they stood on the platform saying their good-byes, when she should have told him about the child they had conceived. A time when had she said the word, he would’ve said yes.

But whether or not they would be happy together, was something neither would be able to foresee. No matter what, Satine’s duties would still remain and Obi-Wan would then be thrust out of a world he had grown up with and the people who raised him. Though he would try to be happy and try to be satisfied with his decision to leave the order, Satine knew that Obi-Wan would only feel nothing but guilt toward her and toward the Jedi Order.

She couldn’t do that to him. It would be selfish of her to even try.

But then that left her with Korkie, a boy who was living a lie without even knowing it.

Before Satine discovered the news of her pregnancy, her sister-in-law had announced that she was expecting. She carried her baby to term, even giving birth to a healthy baby. But shortly after, the palace was bombed and destroyed, erasing any trace of the young couple and their newborn child. But people had not been made aware that the Lady Kryze had given birth at all.

After the news of her pregnancy, she and her handmaidens crafted the story. Korkie would be introduced to the world as Satine Kryze’s long-lost nephew who survived the bombing of the palace that night. Duchess Satine became an aunt during the Civil War. Any records of Korkie’s birth were altered, with a copy of the legitimate information hidden away in the palace where no one could stumble upon them.

It would take some real digging to discover that Korkie was living one elaborate lie.

Satine sat on her bed and looked over at her nightstand, where two photos were placed. One was of Korkie, a school photo, at the age of nine. The other was a tattered picture of her with her two Jedi protectors sat in a simple frame. Their smiling faces gleamed at her, causing her to remember the feeling of returning to the palace after such an eventful year. Every night, she would look at that picture, wishing to ask Qui-Gon for his wisdom or to hold Obi-Wan in her arms.

But those days were just memories now.

 _Oh god,_ Satine breathed as she covered her face with her hands. _What have I gotten myself into?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super brief explanation of how Satine decided to go about Korkie's birth but patience, for in time, all will be revealed.
> 
> Also I really wish Korkie and his friends were in The Clone Wars more. I loved them!
> 
> Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, I know some people really don't like original characters, but please stay with me. The story will still be focused on Korkie, but here's a side story that has to tie it all together for it to make sense, so please don't hate me.
> 
> In this chapter, we really start to get into Korkie being suspicious about where he comes from and doesn't know how to feel or do about it.
> 
> Enjoy!

The Senate session was running long, as usual. Though Mas Amedda had continued to attempt calling order , senators would just pipe up again, making the debate drag on even longer than necessary. The Senate was supposed to vote today on a very important travel and immigration issue, but it appeared the vote was going to continue to be pushed back judging by how many planet hoverlecturns were floating around the arena.

Padawan Sabra Eiben was sitting with her Master Obi-Wan Kenobi at the very top of the arena, trying to stay focused on the discussion at hand, but was finding herself drifting off. All she could understand was the Senate was discussing visiting rights, borders and space travel, but the heart of the discussion was hidden behind big terms and phrases she had yet to understand.

Senate sessions were a learning tradition for Obi-Wan and Sabra. They would take turns picking a meeting to attend to, then observe from the top decks and discuss them after. While they weren’t Sabra’s favorite activity when she was on Coruscant, it was much better than cleaning droids or helping in the Temple kitchens.

“They’ve been going at it for two hours now,” Sabra whispered to Obi-Wan, resting her chin in her hand. Obi-Wan was sitting across from her, stroking his beard as if in deep thought.

He let out a chuckle as he sensed her impatience and confusion through the Force.

“I’m assuming you haven’t the slightest detail about where this conversation is going,” he said with a sigh. “Am I correct?”

Sabra blushed as she began to fiddle with her Padawan braid. “I hear action words like boundaries and borders but I don’t fully understand what the debate is about. But the one thing I do understand is this is not a new issue from the sound of it and it seems those who started this discussion are receiving the popular vote.”

Obi-Wan nodded and crossed his arms. “You are correct, this is not a new topic to be brought in front of the Senate. You see, they are debating about closing off Republic borders. Any planet occupied by the Republic will allow Republic visitors only, which would mean any travelers coming from Separatist or neutral systems would be forbidden to use Republic space lanes or visit our worlds.”

Sabra mulled this information over in her head.

“That’s one way of tightening security,” she said. “But what about the travelers from the neutral systems to Republic worlds for work? Or what about those seeking asylum?”

“And that, Padawan mine, is where the heart of the discussion lies,” Obi-Wan said. “Many of the senators believe allowing visitors from non-Republic occupied worlds won’t help with keeping the people safe. But the others believe that these restrictions could cut off important trade systems and agreements with the Republic.”

“And it would force planets who are still deciding on their place in the war to choose an alliance,” Sabra finished.

“Exactly.”

Chancellor Palpatine finally stood andinterrupted their discussion. “Members of the Senate!” he called. “It has become clear to me that this issue is not ready to be properly voted on. We will be moving the vote to next meeting. Any requests to speak for or against this bill must be filed before next session. This meeting is adjourned.”

The two Jedi stood from their seats, stretching and straightening their robes. It seemed as though they had been sitting for hours.

“Should we head back to the Temple, Master?” Sabra asked as they walked toward the lifts.

“Probably best,” he responded, rubbing his stomach. “It is getting rather close to dinner time and I don’t want to be eating the food scraped from the bottom of the pot again.”

As the two Jedi walked through the Senate halls, they approached Senators Bail Organa and Orn Free Ta.

“Good evening, Master Kenobi, Padawan Eiben,” Senator Organa greeted them as the four entered one of the lifts. “Attended another Senate debacle have we?”

“Indeed,” Obi-Wan responded pressing the button for the hangar. “We wouldn’t miss one if we could help it. Especially when they have heated discussion and proposed, controversial solutions.”

Orn Free Ta let out a chuckle. “This discussion I’m sure is very entertaining for those who don’t impact the decision,” he said. Senator Free Ta then turned to Sabra. “What do you think of the discussion, young one? What are your thoughts on the decisions being proposed?”

“To be honest with you, Senator, I still don’t feel that I have enough understanding of the issue to have a stance,” Sabra said. “Specifically, what does it mean for the workers traveling back and forth from Republic worlds to neutral worlds? How will this affect our relations with neutral planets?”

“And that is the problem,” Senator Organa said. “This issue blocks out an entire demographic of people. Not only that but it could cause asylum seekers and members of the Republic to leave our government and join the Separatists. This will hurt us long before it will help us.”

The elevator stopped on the hangar floor and its four passengers exited onto the platform.

“Well, I wish you all good night with hopes of peaceful slumbers,” Senator Organa said. “I must prepare to embark off-world.”

“Where are you going, Senator?” Obi-Wan asked.

“During the discussion, I received a notice from the Chancellor asking me to attend Mandalore’s neutral systems dinner in hopes of persuading some systems to join the Republic in case this bill goes through,” he sighed. “It will not be easy, that is for sure.”

Obi-Wan nodded with a nervous chuckle. “I’m sure you are aware that the Duchess of Mandalore feels very passionate about her stances and is difficult to persuade.”

Senator Organa let out a breathy laugh. “Yes, I am,” he said weakly. Before parting ways, Bail thought of an idea. “I have a proposition, if it’s alright with you, Master Kenobi. Why doesn’t Padawan Eiben accompany me to Mandalore? It would be a great way to learn about what the neutral systems are like and gain more understanding about the impending changes to these neutral systems.”

Sabra and Obi-Wan exchanged quick looks. “While I believe this would be quite the learning experience for my Padawan, I’m afraid the Council will not give official clearance for her to escort you off-world to a neutral system.”

“Hmm, I suppose that does pose as a problem,” Bail said, stroking the little tuft of hair on his chin. “How about if I invited her along as my personal guest? Will the Jedi be needing her any time soon?”

“No, I suppose not. But the ultimate decision on those grounds would be up to Padawan Eiben,” Obi-Wan said as the two men turned to her.

Sabra quickly mulled the idea over in her head. She had never been to Mandalore before, or to a neutral system for that matter. Something about it felt intimidating to her and the Force was being weirdly quiet about this opportunity presented to her, despite usually giving her that push to accept any opportunity that came her way.

“Do I have time to think about it?” Sabra asked the senator.

“Of course,” Bail said. “But there is an expiration on the offer. Let me know by tomorrow at sunset if you plan to join me so I can make proper arrangements for your travel.”

Sabra bowed her thanks to the Senator and followed Obi-Wan to their speeder.

They returned to the Temple quickly and stopped by the kitchens for their evening meal.

It was toward the end of the supper period, and most Jedi had left the dining area rather empty. Obi-Wan and Sabra sat at a table near the windows overlooking Coruscant’s busy evening activity.

On a normal dinner, the two would continue any discussions from earlier in the day, or be joined by Master Skywalker and Padawan Tano if they were home. Sometimes Obi-Wan’s creche mates would stop and join them for a meal as well, or Sabra’s friends from her studies. Very rarely was dinnertime this uneventful.

Obi-Wan broke the silence with the clearing of his throat. He could sense his Padawan’s confusion through the Force. She was still mulling over the events of the Senate meeting.

“I can sense your anxiety about Bail’s offer,” he said, setting down his utensils. “I thought you’d be eager to accompany him off-world. And it’s not like you’d be going into battle.”

“And normally, I would,” Sabra answered truthfully. “I haven’t been to a neutral world before. I’ve read about their governments in my studies, but never had the opportunity to visit one in person to see it all in action.”

Obi-Wan chuckled as he wiped his mouth. “Having been to a few myself, there is nothing to fear,” he said. “And having never visited a neutral system, I’d say Mandalore is a good place to start.”

Sabra swallowed her food and began to pick at her meal in front of her. “Master,” she started, careful of her next few words. “Why don’t you talk about Mandalore? Or the Duchess? From what I seemed to put together, the events on Mandalore when you were a Padawan and last year seemed to really shape you as a Jedi. At least, that’s what Master Skywalker likes to say.”

Sabra felt a ripple in the Force. Obi-Wan had thrown up his shields, hoping she didn’t notice. She had wandered into restricted territory. Her master was silent, but no matter how much she gently probed at his shields, they didn’t budge. Finally, he began to speak.

“Anakin would be correct in that my missions on Mandalore have effected me deeply,” he said. “But Jedi should not dwell on the past, or the ‘what-if’s’ so to speak. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and trust in the Force.”

Sabra let out a quiet sigh at Obi-Wan’s cryptic response. He really did not want to talk about this. “My apologies, Master,” she said, taking another bite of food.

Obi-Wan’s stern frown was replaced with a weak smile. The tension Sabra felt in the Force was then softened, and she could once again feel the glow of her Master’s Force signature. But his shields were still tightly woven into place. “Apology accepted,” he said finally.

***

The notes on Korkie’s data pad were quickly turning from information about the native Mando’ade people to scribbles and scratch drawings of whatever popped into his head. History was one of Korkie’s favorite study subjects in school, but today, his concentration had been forgotten.

He couldn’t stop thinking about his birthday dinner a few days prior. Korkie felt bad about the way things had ended with Aunt Satine. After returning to his school that night, he sent a message to her with an apology, asking to forgive his intrusion. But he didn’t feel bad about asking the questions he did.

“So what are you going to do now?” Amis had asked him that night. Korkie had let out a deep sigh before answering.

“Nothing, I guess,” he said. “Aunt Satine is the only person who really has knowledge of my family and if she can barely stand to talk about it, I guess it’s just a subject I have to learn to drop.”

Korkie was pulled out of his thoughts with a kick at his feet from Lagos.

“Pay attention,” she mouthed at him before turning back to her own datapad. Korkie snickered and sat up to try and regain his concentration.

“Onto the next part of today’s class,” Dr. Tibba said. “Part of Mandalorian’s history lies within all of us. You are the new generation of Mandalorian citizens to keep our culture alive and well long after we’re all gone. For this next project, I want you to venture down to the science labs and use the DNA machines.

“I want you all to take a blood sample, run it through the machine and come back with what you thought your results would look like and what the results really are. You have two rotations to take the test and retrieve your results. And you never know, the results may surprise you.”

After class was dismissed, Korkie followed his friends to the science labs, where students had already begun to grow the DNA testing machines.

“This project is easy,” Amis said plopping himself in front of one of the chairs. “Full Mandalorian blood running through my veins.”

Soniee sat down in the chair next to him. “Maybe you’ll have some of those clone genes or whatever because let’s be honest, you look like almost everyone else,” she joked, receiving a joking shoulder punch from Amis. “Most of mine will also show up Mandalorian, but I thought I remember my dad telling me that there’s some native Mando’ade blood in our family tree as well.”

Lagos and Korkie caught up to them, standing behind Amis as he turned on the machine.

“Nothing super exciting on my end,” Lagos said with a sigh. “My sister teased that we might have had some Coruscanti blood, but it’s so far back in my family’s history that any detection would be too minimal for the machines to detect.”

“And we all know how mine will fair,” Korkie said resting his arm on Soniee’s shoulder. “Mandalorian of the Clan Kryze inside and out.”

The four cadets quickly filled out their predictions on genetic origins, then took turns pricking their index fingers to smear on a glass slide. The blood samples were then submitted into the machine, where it analyzed even the smallest identifying factors in the blood submissions.

The process of putting together genetic origins would take about an hour or so, plenty of time for the cadets to start their homework and chat.

“So what do you say we go to the parks this weekend?” Lagos asked as she pulled out her notes. “That way we can properly celebrate your birthday, Korkie.”

“And have another go at get’shuk against those asses from the other academy,”Amis said, lightly punching Korkie’s shoulder. “I’ve been waiting for a rematch.”

Korkie laughed as he crossed his arms to defend himself, eventually shoving Amis off into his own chair. “While that sounds great,” he said, catching his breath. “I’m going to be with my aunt again. I’m her special guest for some neutral systems council dinner or something like that.”

“Do you think your aunt has forgiven you after the other night?” Soniee asked, pushing her glasses up on her forehead.

“I don’t know, we haven’t spoken since,” Korkie replied with a sigh. “She did have a guard send me the time I would be taken to the palace, so she didn’t rescind the offer of inviting me. Maybe things will be OK now.”

“No matter what,” Lagos said. “Your aunt is the Duchess of Mandalore, probably one of the nicest people in power I’ve heard of and loves you to bits. She’ll come around.”

“I hope so,” Korkie said.

The four cadets then took to their other classwork and before they realized how much time had passed, their DNA results were ready. The form handed to each of the cadets had a detailed list of their personal information like their name, age and birthday, followed by a long list of the different ethnicities identified in their blood.

Amis was right, full Mandalorian blood with traces of Clan Rook and Clan Vizsla blood mixed in as well. Soniee was also Mandalorian for the most part, and in fact did have traces of Mando’ade blood too, but it was such a small sample that she may be the last generation in her family to have it show up in a blood test. Lagos was full Mandalorian, with stronger traces to Clan Eldar. If there was any Coruscanti blood, it was too far back in her family tree. For the most part, everyone’s predictions were the same with little surprises.

“Go on, Korkie,” Soniee said. “Let’s see yours.”

Korkie pulled up the results on his holopad and began to look them over, only to find immediately that something was wrong.

“I don’t think this information is right,” he said finally. The other three gathered around as they began to look at what the machine had detected. His name was spelled right, Korkie Kryze. But the age was wrong. And so was the birthday. According to his blood sample, Korkie’s genetic birthday was 11 months prior to his real one, making him almost a year older than he was supposed to be.

“Maybe it’s a glitch in the system?” Lagos suggested. “Sometimes these machines can get tired when overused.”

“But even then,” Soniee interjected. “This is information pulled straight from the blood itself and compares it to people who’s information is already in secure databases. There’s no way that the glitch would tamper with the blood results taken.”

“Keep reading, the genetic make-up should still be Clan Kryze blood,” Amis said nudging Korkie. They flipped to the part of the results with genetic make-up and nearly gasped at what they found.

The other cadets at at least 80% Mandalorian blood in their genetics, but Korkie’s was a low 48%. While that 48% was Clan Kryze blood, the rest looked completely foreign to him. “It says I’m also 50% Stewjoni and 2% Coruscanti?” Korkie managed to say.

Soniee opened her computer and began to research Stewjon.

“Stewjon is a terrestrial farming planet of the Galactic Republic,” she read. “The planet is inhabited by humans with Galactic Basic Standard as the main language. Primary industry is fruit.”

Amis snickered. “Out of all the planets the machine could accidentally choose, why did it choose this dump?” he asked. “Seems strange to me.”

“Or maybe it isn’t a mistake,” Lagos said. “Korkie, your mother wasn’t originally from Clan Kryze, right?”

Korkie shook his head. “Right, but from what I’ve heard, she was from Clan Elder like you were, Lagos,” he said. “So if anything, that should be showing up on the page not Stewjoni blood.” The four cadets sat and pondered for a moment. So the results came back slightly skewed-OK mostly skewed. But who would they go to for clarification? Korkie knew Aunt Satine wouldn’t help and Aunt Bo-Katan had left the Clan Kryze and went AWOL a long time ago, so needless to say she was also out of the question.

Korkie felt stomach sink even further down his body.

“Well,” Korkie finally said breaking the silence. “At least our assignment is finished.” He picked up his things and started to walk away from the other cadets, who were shooting each other strange looks.

“So you’re just going to accept these results, then?” Soniee asked. “You aren’t going to question or look further into them?”

Korkie stopped and turned to face her. “What other choice do I have?” he asked. “It’s not like I have a number of family members to ask like you lot do. My Aunt Satine can barely say my own father’s name without breaking down!”

Lagos, Soniee and Amis looked down at the ground, unsure of what to do or say next.

“You may not have family who can help you,” Lagos started. “But you have us. We can help you look further, maybe find information about where you truly come from. Maybe there are some records we could look up or family files somewhere.” Korkie scoffed at her response.

“You lot don’t get it,” he said with a sigh. “My entire life could be a lie and the only person who can truly confirm or deny who I am refuses to talk about it. You all can go home to your families and ask about the past and what your families were like. I can’t. These results won’t change anything at all.”

Korkie looked up at his friends, each wearing a guilty look on their face. He snorted one more time before turning to walk back to his room.

As he walked down the hallways, he began racking his brain at what this meant. Had someone really lied about where he was from? Satine had told him his parents were both born Mandalorian, so had one of them been lying this entire time? Or what if they both had been lying?

He reached his dorm room, plopping his things on the table and sitting on the bed. Korkie, too, kept two photos by his bed. The first was a photo of his parents before they had died. It was right after they had announced their pregnancy, according to Aunt Satine. His father was nearly a perfect picture imitation of Satine herself, they both had the same long nose and sharp features, just like he did. In the middle of long, sleepless nights, Korkie used to look at this photograph and wonder what either of his parents say if he told them he couldn't sleep.

He would imagine his father, with a booming voice, say to take deep breaths and clear your mind, and imagine his mother brewing tea for the three of them to calm their nerves. He also would wonder, if his parents had lived, if he would be an only-child or if they would’ve had more children. Korkie always wanted to know what it was like to have a younger brother or sister. His friends were the closest thing to a sibling he would ever have, which he didn’t mind at all, but they were all around the same age. He wanted to know what being the oldest was like. But no matter how much he tried to create that picture in his head, it never fit in a way that he could comfortably dwell on.

Korkie stared at this photo. It looked different to him now. The smiling faces he would gaze at for hours seemed so foreign to him all of a sudden. Thinking a little out of the box for a moment: What if they weren’t his real parents? Or what if he was actually adopted from a crackhead in the under levels of Sundari? Why did the people who really were his parents feel the need to cover up who he really was? Korkie put the photo back on his nightstand. It was all too much to process and he didn’t like it.

The second photo on his nightstand was a picture with Aunt Satine at a lake somewhere on Mandalore. He was only six-years-old then, with bright auburn hair, laughing as his Aunt kneeled and her arms tight around him. She looked much younger in the picture too. He could see the resemblance she had to the Clan Kryze. Korkie traced his finger over both of their features.

As he had gotten older, his hair had steadily gotten lighter and lighter until it was a mix of auburn and bright blonde hair. Before, Korkie didn’t look much like a Kryze, but now that he had grown up, he quickly started to resemble his aunt and late parents. Anyone who didn’t know his backstory would be convinced he looked just like Satine.

Korkie took in a long deep breath and let it out slowly as he placed the photo back on his night stand. He needed stop thinking about his results and focus on something else. The special dinner with his aunt and the Council of Neutral Systems, he would focus on that, instead.


	4. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while! Sorry for the delay in this chapter, I was moving my stuff and dealing with other writing stuff for some freelance gigs but alas, here is Chapter Three!
> 
> Here, we find out a little more about where Korkie is told he comes from so big things are happening!
> 
> Enjoy!

Sabra decided the next morning that she would accompany Senator Organa on his trip to Mandalore. It was better than lounging around the Temple waiting for another mission to come around, and Master Obi-Wan was going to be in Council meetings for the majority of the time they were home. At least, Sabra thought, she could finally take a trip that wouldn’t potentially end in gunfire or fighting.

Senator Organa’s ship was to depart in the evening with an eight hour trip ahead of them. They would be on Mandalore for three days, with the dinner on the final night of their trip. Jedi had ceremonial robes for special occasions and were only ever worn at sophisticated events that everyday robes might not be suited for. Of course, these robes were very rarely ever worn after the war started.

Obi-Wan walked Sabra to the departure platform to see her off. The sun had already begun to set along Coruscant’s skyline and the artificial lights were beginning to glow. Traffic had died down by this point, allowing a quick departure from the planet’s atmosphere and faster clearance to enter hyperspace.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like to come with for the ride?” Sabra asked. “I’m sure the Duchess would be more than happy to see you.”

Obi-Wan let out a breathy laugh. “I don’t think that would be the best idea,” he said nervously. “Besides I have duties and meetings to attend to here.”

Sabra nodded and turned to face the traffic. Noticing her sudden silence, Obi-Wan gently nudged her with the Force, seeing if he could get a read at what his Padawan was sensing.

“I sense you are uneasy about your little trip,” Obi-Wan said as they approached the landing dock. “Is something on your mind?”

Sabra shrugged as she adjusted her small sack on her shoulder. “I’ve been feeling a weird sensation in the Force,” she said. “It feels like the Force wants me to be on the look for something or someone. But nothing more than that.”

Obi-Wan began to stroke his beard, a habit he established when he first had started to grow facial hair. “Curious,” he said. “I can only suspect that the Force is telling you to keep an open mind, and that you will encounter views you may not be in total agreement with. Just remember to be respectful and observe carefully. You are going as the Senator’s guest.”

“I know, Master,” Sabra responded. “The Duchess is already weary of The Republic as is.”

Sabra could feel the Force ripple gently again at the mention of Duchess Satine’s title and tried to suppress a snort. She glanced over at her Master, whose face seemed to be more set as they walked. Master Kenobi always seemed to suddenly become nervous at the mere mention of Mandalore or Duchess Satine.

Sabra knew that her master had been involved in a mission on Mandalore with Master Qui-Gon in the past, but he never truly spoke on the matter or what happened and any record of the two on Mandalore were very brief with not much detail. Even Master Skywalker could only discuss what happened when he and Kenobi had escorted the Duchess to Coruscant to defend her planet’s neutrality.

“Yes, and I suppose after the way her Coruscant visit ended, she will be even more cautious,” Obi-Wan finally said. “Speaking of which, your lightsaber. Hand it over.”

Obi-Wan outstretched his hand only to receive a confused look from Sabra.

“Why do you need my lightsaber? Did you misplace yours again?”

Obi-Wan chuckled. “No, it is clipped to my belt where it should be,” he said, patting the weapon on his belt with his other hand. “The Duchess has requested that no outside weapons be allowed entrance into the Sundari borders after… what happened last time.”

Sabra raised an eyebrow. “Master, do you mean to tell me that you caused so much chaos on a neutral planet that their world leader banned any and all weapons from entering the grounds because of you?” she asked, a laugh building up inside her. Obi-Wan let out a sigh.

“Something like that,” he said quickly. Sabra let out a laugh as she unclipped her lightsaber from her belt and placed it into her Master’s hand. “I’ll keep it safe while you’re gone.”

By the time they were on the platform, Senator Organa had already prepared their elegant transport, a middle-size class CR90 corvette transport named _Tantive IV,_ and was ready to depart on their journey.

“Well looks like you’d better be headed off,” Obi-Wan said.

“Yes, and Master,” Sabra started. “I wanted to apologize again for intruding on your past the other night. I didn’t mean to overstep.”

Obi-Wan smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. “You didn’t prod too hard. You were merely curious,” he said. “However, don’t let your curiosity get the best of you on Mandalore. I think we know by now how much your curiosity can get you into some trouble and I won’t be there to assist you.” Obi-Wan winked at Sabra as she smiled and bowed, respectfully.

“I won’t, Master,” she said. “May the Force be with you.”

***

Korkie decided to spend the night before the dinner at the palace with Aunt Satine. The night before had been long and restless as he tried to ignore his DNA results, and because there was so much to prepare for, Aunt Satine would be occupied the entire time.

Korkie had a guest room prepared right next to his Aunt’s. It was the same room he had stayed in since he was younger and was filled with the few familiar things his parents had left behind for him: A few toys from when he was an infant, some fairytales Satine used to read to him at night, and clothes that weren’t his school uniform like his dinner clothes.

Normally Korkie always felt at home in this small room of the palace, so why did it feel so weird to be in it right now?

Everything was still in its same place from the last time he stayed the night here, and the castle maidens only ever entered the room to change the sheets or clean the ‘fresher. Korkie flopped onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Though he had tried to convince himself that all was fine with the world and he had nothing to be anxious about, he still couldn’t shed the nagging feeling that there was something wrong about everything. His life, his background, his schooling. Whatever it was, there was something out of place.

Korkie’s anxiety thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. It was Áine, the head mistress of the pastle.

“I just came to bring you some clean towels for your stay,” she said walking over to the shelf. “I hope everything looks OK. It’s been a while since you’ve stayed with us. It’s good to see you again, love.”

Áine had been a servant at the palace since before Satine was born, having served Korkie’s grandfather Adonai Kryze when he ruled as Duke of Mandalore. Suddenly, a thought popped into Korkie’s head. Áine was head mistress, which meant that she was allowed to be a little less formal when given the opportunity, and because Korkie had authority as nephew of the Duchess, he could grant such opportunity.

“Áine, may I ask you a question?” he asked. Áine raised an eyebrow.

“You know you can always ask me anything, as long as it isn’t covering up one of your little schemes,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. Korkie took in a deep breath. He knew he could trust Áine with anything. She was like his second aunt.

“I was wondering if you could tell my how my parents died,” he quickly blurted. Áine’s eyes widened as she rested her hands on her hips. She began to chew her lower lip. Clearly this was a subject she didn’t like to talk about either. She took in one long breath and let it out in one huff.

“I would have thought your Auntie told you about that,” she said, scratching her neck. “It’s not really my place to intrude, dear one.”

“No, she hasn’t,” Korkie said. “Please, I’ve never known anything about their death except for the fact that they were killed during the Mandalorian Civil War, but other than that, nothing. I’ve asked Aunt Satine but she can’t even begin the story without tearing up.”

Áine sighed again and sat down at a little table near the window. “Ah because it is truly a sad tale,” she said. “Alright then, but you can’t tell your Auntie that I told you. She would be very cross with me.”

Korkie nodded furiously as he sat down across from her. Finally! He was going to hear more about his parents! Why didn’t he come to Áine sooner? “I won’t tell a soul,” he said.

Áine gave a small smile and wiped her hands on her apron. “I suppose it is time that you knew at least a little bit more about their deaths,” she said weakly. “As you know, the Mandalorian Civil War is and will always be a scar on the people who lived through it. The terrorist group Death Watch wanted to make a bold entrance to show all rulership of Sundari and Mandalore that they weren’t to be messed with. And because your Aunt Bo had just recently left to join their ranks, they knew almost all of the ins and outs of the castles and the royal clans.

“The war was officially started when Death Watch executed your grandparents. Your Aunt Satine, who was only 16 or so at the time, was forced to go on the run with two Jedi protectors, as she was the next in line for the throne. Your father was less of a target because he was second in line, and he was already happily married and didn’t have any intention of taking the throne. He had just been married to a beautiful young woman and were expecting a baby a few months after the war had begun.

“Because Adonai Kryze had been executed and Satine was now the official ruler of Mandalore, Death Watch had hopes of scaring Satine into joining their ranks and let them rein over the planet due to her young age. Now your Aunt was definitely scared, but she wasn’t stupid. She stayed hidden with her Jedi protectors and lived on the run for about a year.”

“Wait,” Korkie interrupted. “Mandalore has and always will be a neutral planet. What was she doing with Jedi protectors?”

“I was the one who suggested the protectors,” Áine said. “We had no idea what Death Watch was capable of and knew the Jedi wouldn’t be able to say no to protecting a world leader, even if they come from a neutral system. Now your Aunt was furious that we arranged for these protectors without her knowledge. She was outraged. But she really had no choice and accepted their help to hide from the terrorists.”

Korkie rubbed his eyes and mulled over this information. “This is really fascinating and I’m thankful for you telling me this, but what does this have to do with the death of my parents?” Áine shot Korkie a look.

“I’m getting there, hold your speeders,” she said. “Now your aunt had managed to dodge any attack or attempt of kidnapping while on the run. She at first had made plans to hide at your parents home, which was far outside of the Sundari boundaries and because of the danger was following her, she didn’t want to bring that danger to your parents. She learned they were pregnant through a final transmission just a few months before you were born.

“Now, fast forward a little. Your mother had just given birth to you and your parents were enjoying some of the happiest moments of their young lives. I was still at the Sundari castle hiding away, but the next thing I knew, reports that your parents’ home had been bombed began to flood the HoloNews. There was so much smoke and terror in the streets. Mandalorian guards tried everything they could to find your parents in the mess, but it was already too late.”

Korkie swallowed hard, tears had slowly started to build in his eyes. He was beginning to understand why the subject was so painful for Aunt Satine to talk about. All he could picture were pillars of smoke and ash rising from what was to be his childhood home.

“A few weeks later, it was safe for Satine to come back to the castle and start her role as Duchess and word was sent from the groundskeeper of your parents’ estate that he had found a baby after hearing cries in the night. It was a gift granted to us by the Force that you were found and I will never forget the day you were brought here.”

By now, Korkie was wiping at his nose, trying to hide the fact that he was crying. Áine rested a hand on his shoulder and handed him her handkerchief. They sat in a sad silence for a few moments before Korkie could dry his eyes.

“That was… a lot harder to hear than I expected,” he said quietly. “But thank you for telling me Áine. I wish I could’ve known sooner or known the intensity and then I could’ve stop pestering Aunt Satine to make her relive that.”

Áine smiled as she pocketed her handkerchief and brushed a piece of hair from Korkie’s face.

“It’s a very sad story,” she said. “And your Auntie has always wanted to tell you, but yes, it is a very hard story to hear.” Áine paused for a moment, standing up and straightening her clothes. “But just know, young Korkie, your Auntie Satine loves you more than anything in this universe. You’re the last piece of true family she has in this world, and will do anything to keep you safe.”

Áine wiped a small tear that had formed in her eye and walked out of the room to return to her daily duties.

Korkie stood as well, walking over to one of the large windows on the other side of the room that overlooked the castle gardens. The sun was beginning to set over the horizon. In the gardens below where the castle staff was preparing for the upcoming dinner. Among the hustle and bustle, Korkie spotted his Aunt Satine, talking with staff and helping prepare. After dismissing a servant, she looked up, catching Korkie’s eye.

Korkie gave a small smile and sent her a gentle wave. Satine let out a small chuckle and waved back before blowing a kiss his way. As Korkie mulled the story he had just been told, he sat down on his bed. On one hand, he could accept what Áine told him and move on with his life. But if there’s one thing he had been taught at the Academy, you can never be entirely certain that the whole truth has been revealed.

*******

The _Tantive IV_ travelled to Mandalore through what would be night time on Coruscant. But unsurprising to Sabra, no one on board was asleep. After getting a few hours of gentle sleep, Sabra stood with on the bridge with the flight crew, watching as the stars and planets zipped by while in hyperspace. Through the Force she could feel the stress Senator Organa was experiencing from the meeting room behind them. A lot was riding on the Duchess’s decision about picking a side.

Sabra didn’t understand everything that was at risk, but big things like trade cut-off and space lanes were some of the major concerns.

“If the Republic truly moves forward with this plan, Mandalore will no longer be able to trade with any Republic planet,” Senator Organa had explained earlier. “Much of their food and supplies come from our government and this bill will cut that off and badly hurt their economy.”

“So if there is so much riding on this alliance with the Republic, why does the Duchess and Mandalorian government refuse to join in allegiance?” Sabra had asked. “If they depend on the Republic like you say they do, this could put them into economic turmoil.”

The senator had shrugged and sighed. “Because aligning with the Republic would mean the require our protection.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“The Duchess of Mandalore has spent many long years of her place in power to defend the system’s neutrality from the war and violence itself,” Bail said. “The Mandalore people have a very passionate and violent past. It’s a big part of who they were. But after the Mandalorian Civil War ended, the Duchess vowed she would never allow violence on the planet ever again.”

Sabra contemplated this as she stood looking out the windows. This was a dilemma she had never encountered before, but she’d only ever visited Republic occupied planets. Even on missions to cut-off Separatist supply ships or stop them from reaching systems of their own rarely took them to Separatist space.

Just in the past few years had the war seem to crush any chance of an end to be seen. Every Republic victor was another three for the Separatists. It was very rare that Sabra was ever at the Temple for more than two weeks. Even if she didn’t always go on missions with her master, she would join other Jedi Knights when necessary.

Her thoughts were interrupted when one of the crew members informed of their approach to the Mandalore system. As they came out of hyperspace, the viewport revealed a gaseous-looking planet. The surface was generally misty, hiding any sign of civilization to an unbeknownst traveler.

“We will be landing on the planet’s surface in about 40 minutes,” the captain said into the intercom system.

Sabra closed her eyes and reached out into the Force and get a read on the planet. So much violence had taken place here. So much blood had been shed on the surface and even after all these years, there was still so much tension that radiated across the system, it was almost overwhelming to Sabra. But even through the violence and tension, there was a beacon of light in the Force. The system was mending itself with a new generation of kindness and acceptance. It still had a long way to go, but radiated a future for the system.

The _Tantive IV_ landed on the docks just outside of the large, black dome of Sundari that rose above the gaseous exterior of Mandalore. This was the capitol and hub of the planet, with most of the system’s population residing under its protective layers.

Sabra exited the ship with Senator Organa and two of his guards onto the platform, where two guards with elaborate head-pieces and long staffs awaited them.

“The Duchess of Mandalore formally welcomes Senator Organa,” one of the guards said.

“It is my utmost honor to be invited,” Senator Organa responded. “I hope the Duchess will not mind that I brought a personal guest along with me.”

The guard looked over at Sabra, who clearly had the identifying features of a Jedi, from the Padawan braid to the robes she wore. Sabra could feel the tension from the guard, probably remembering the last time a Jedi set foot on Sundari’s landing dock.

“Jedi Padawan, the Duchess forbids any outside weapons from entering the boundaries of Sundari…” the guard began to say until Sabra lifted her hand.

“Not to worry, sir,” she said with a bow. “My lightsaber has been left under the protection of the Temple back on Coruscant.” Sabra felt the tension the guard was feeling diminish as he let out a quiet, but visible sigh.

“Then if the distinguished Senator and his guest will follow us to the transport,” he said and turned to walk toward the city entrance. The transport they boarded, quickly flew off into the city toward the palace. As they travelled, Sabra took in the city’s landscape.

The homes and storefronts were stacked up on top of each other like building blocks, jutting in and out unevenly in a way that was both unsatisfying yet curious at the same time. Each ‘building block’ structure had tall blue windows that reflected the soft light that entered from the durasteel panelling. Sundari citizens walked along the pathways on different levels of the city, calmly chatting away and minding their business.

Sabra was taken aback by the city’s architectural beauty, and through the fact that despite the tension she had felt in the Force earlier, it was a quite peaceful and frankly beautiful city.

The transport reached the palace entrance momentarily, where the Duchess herself was waiting for their arrival. She wore the same ceremonious outfit she had worn on Coruscant the last time Sabra had seen her. The transport landed at the designated bay in front of the Duchess where the Senator and Sabra approached her.

“Senator Organa, it is a pleasure,” the Duchess said with a bow. Senator Organa bowed back.

“Yes, it is,” he responded. “You are looking well, Duchess. I hope you do not mind that I brought a last minute guest.”

The Duchess then looked at Sabra. “I was not aware your guest was a Jedi protector,” she said a little too sternly.

“She is here as my personal guest rather than protector,” Bail responded. “She had never travelled to a neutral system and I figured now was as good a time as ever.”

Sabra stepped forward and bowed to the Duchess. “Your Excellency, it is good to see you again,” she said. Duchess Satine bowed back, with a more gentle smile.

“Well, in this case, welcome to Sundari, young one,” she said. “Sabra, am I correct?”

Sabra nodded. “Yes, your highness,” she responded.

“It is a pleasure to see you again,” the Duchess said. “I remember we only briefly met before I had to depart from Coruscant a few months ago. Speaking of, how is Master Kenobi?”

Sabra straightened, sensing the Duchess was feeling less rigid that she had come along for the journey. “He is well, with very tied hands from his duties at the Temple as a Master.”

A gentle smile formed on Satine’s face. Sabra felt slight sense of relief and satisfaction come from Satine with the news. Talk of Mandalore’s past was probably also a rocky subject for the Duchess, but hearing of Obi-Wan’s wellness seemed to intrigue her.

“Ah, so another typical day in the life of Master Obi-Wan Kenobi,” Satine said with a slight chuckle. Sabra nodded, her smile widening on her face. She felt less intimidated by the Duchess’s appearance now. “Well then, we are still waiting on a few more guests to arrive to the castle and there is still much to prepare for our dinner. Let me escort you both to your rooms. I’m sure it’s been a long journey.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did y'all think of the story Korkie was told? How are we feeling so far? 
> 
> R & R
> 
> I'll be back soon with the next chapter and may the Force be with you.


	5. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I started classes and they have truly been kicking my ass. I also run a publication and that takes up so much time that when I finally have a chance to write, I'm too tired and need to not think for a bit..
> 
> But I have this story planned out and hope to have it completed soon!
> 
> Anyway here you go!

Korkie was especially excited to look into his background after his conversations with Áine later that evening. She had come up to bring his dinner a few hours later and as she tried to leave, Korkie had tried to ask more questions.

“Force sakes, love, why all the questions all of a sudden?” she had cried. “Something is going on with you.”

Korkie had frozen, unsure of what to say or whether he should even tell anyone about his recent results from school. The problem was Áine had the capability to report back to Satine if something as going on with Korkie or if he was acting strange and he wasn’t ready to talk with his aunt about this just yet. He was going to have to be careful about how to proceed.

“Well,” he started. “All of my friends at school have been telling me about their family histories and where they come from. I guess I wanted to have a story of my own to tell.”

Áine sighed and put a hand on Korkie’s shoulder. “I know it’s hard love. I, too, lost my family at a very young age. But unfortunately what I’ve told you is what I know and that’s all I can tell you.”

Korkie sighed because he knew she was right. She had already overstepped by telling him all this information.

“I’m sorry, Áine, you’ve already done so much for me,” Korkie said, ducking his head. Áine patted his head lightly before turning to leave, but Korkie had to try at least one more time. “Before you go, can I ask one last question?”

Áine turned around and raised an eyebrow. “Depends,” she said.

“Were any members of my family of Stewjoni descent?”

Áine was mulling this question over in her head, confused before she let out a long, breathy laugh.

“Of course not, my dear!” she said wiping her tears from her eyes. “All members of the Clan Kryze family have pure Mandalorian blood pumping through their veins. The Stewjon system is not even remotely nearby, nor do we have any need to be in business with them. You kids and your crazy dreams.”

Áine could still be heard laughing even after she closed the door to Korkie’s room. This may have seemed like a hysterical question to Áine, but to Korkie, this was big. If Áine was correct in that everyone from Clan Kryze was full Mandalorian, then there shouldn’t be any reason for Stewjoni traces to be showing up in his blood at all.

Questions began to storm through Korkie’s head but were quickly but to rest because he knew what he had to do. He was going to be staying in the palace for a while, and the palace had some of the best kept records of Mandalore’s history with information not even available for public consumption.

His mind was racing. The library and archives weren’t far from his bedroom on this side of the palace and Aunt Satine was busy with the preparations for everyone to stay for the conference. If there was a time for Korkie to look through the library files without being disturbed, now would certainly be the time. He couldn’t afford to have anyone knowing he was questioning his background. The last thing he needed was to hurt Satine’s feelings or put a target for scandal on anyone’s backs.

Korkie grabbed his datapad, which had his DNA results loaded on already, and quickly sprinted off to the archives in hopes of searching for some answers.

***

Sabra was given a small room over her own near Senator Organa’s. The room was fairly simple, with only a bed and table with chairs occupying the space, which Sabra guessed was for company that didn’t plan on staying more than a night.

Senator Organa had some inquiries to take care of after they parted ways, so Sabra was going to be on her own for the evening. She decided she would walk about the palace grounds, exploring the ins and outs of the gorgeous architecture she’d be staying in for the next few days. She walked up and down the lavish hallways, taking in the careful simplicity of the flooring and archways while contemplating the tiny detailing etched in the tall, towering windows.

Something Sabra admired about this palace was how simple and well blended-in it was to the rest of Sundari. The outside and interior were clearly that of royalty, but there was not a design element or structure wasted when signifying the fact that this was a palace. The designs were kept clean and simple while catching anyone’s breath who roamed through the doors.

Through her casual evening walk, Sabra was able to find the entrance to the palace gardens (currently occupied by servants and handmaidens finishing preparation for visitors), the throne room, the palace kitchens and, her most anticipated find, the library.

If there was anything she agreed with Master Kenobi on, it was that a library was truly the most magical place in the entirety of a system. So much information about history, culture, economy and society of a system was detailed and properly kept in a library, and because Sabra had never been to Mandalore before, she figured this was a great place to learn more about the neutral system.

The library was as grand as the palace itself, with the walls covered with shelves of holobooks and texts neatly placed and organized. They almost looked as if they’d never been touched.

Sabra began to roam up and down the tall shelves filled with books, looking for an eye-catcher to read first. One book turned to three, and three turned to six. After gathering up her haul of books, ranging from Mandalore’s history to information about the system’s culture, she began to look around for a nice chair to burrow down in and pass the time.

She started walking over to an emptier part of the library, near where some computers were set up when she spotted some chairs and tables. As she stumbled to carry all her books to the chair, she felt the Force become slightly frustrated. Sabra set her books down on the table before sitting down herself, tuning in more to the Force and the sudden room change.

She certainly wasn’t alone in the library, but the other two people that were in the library with her were both reading calmly in chairs on the other side of the library.

“Fuck!” someone angrily whispered behind her. Sabra quickly turned to the computers. She stood up and slowly started to move toward the back desks where she could hear someone angrily typing away at one of the keyboards. The closer she got to the back of the library, she spotted a bright head of platinum blonde hair with auburn streaks hunched over a keyboard, with two holopads next to him.

***

Korkie sat hunched over one of the keyboards. He forgot how many tabs of information he had open on his screen- he lost count after 35. So far the information in the archives wasn’t getting him anywhere. Any information on his parents only led up to right before their deaths from the explosion or straight to news articles saying Satine’s nephew had been found safe and alive. Any other information appeared to be forbidden to access without some kind of code.

He tried to access his own medical records but aside from whatever reports had been documented by the academy’s infirmary, there wasn’t a lot about his information. Even information like his brith certificate and records as an infant were either vague or locked down behind a security wall.

Korkie was getting frustrated. He was in the palace, as the nephew to the Duchess of Mandalore. There was no excuse he could think of as to why he couldn’t access his own medical records or information about his family. He was going to have to keep digging.

“The keyboard isn’t going to fight back you know,” a voice said next to him, making him nearly jump out of his trousers. He looked up, half expecting one of the palace workers to be standing there but was surprised to find a young woman, probably in her mid to late-teens standing there. She wasn’t Mandalorian, and appeared to be wearing different robes of some sort.

“Good thing then,” was all Korkie could manage to say. “I’m sorry but I’m very busy right now.”

The young woman only walked closer to look at his screen, something Korkie couldn’t cover up without looking completely suspicious. For all he knew, this could be a guard to one of the visitor’s coming to stay. Korkie placed a hand over his holopads and gently brought them closer to his own space.

“‘Nephew of Duchess Satine found among rubble,’” the woman read aloud from his screen. “What interest do you have in the Duchess’s nephew?”

Korkie sighed, minimizing the screen and turning to look at the woman better. He froze, and realized who he was talking to. The woman was wearing robes that resembled the Jedi, and even had an apprentice braid that stood out from her long brown hair. She was also muscular, and looked like she’d seen battle before, despite being so young. But something was missing.

“What’s a Jedi doing on Mandalore?” he asked, keeping his guard up even higher.

“I’m here as a personal guest to Senator Bail Organa,” she responded, folding her arms. “I’m here to learn about the Council of Neutral Systems.”

“You didn’t bring your lightsaber along?”

“It’s back on Coruscant under the guard of my master,” she said. “And the Duchess forbids any off-world weapons from entering the Sundari grounds.”

Korkie studied her even more. There was something in his head that lightly told him that she was being truthful and had nothing to hide from him. He could feel a calming presence radiate from her. Something was telling him that she wasn’t someone to fear. He’d never believed in aura readings or anything spiritual like that, but her presence seemed to heighten his senses somehow.

She was being open with him, and he remembered something about his Aunt banning off-world weapons after the last Jedi that came to Sundari.

***

“And the Duchess forbids any off-world weapons from entering the Sundari grounds,” Sabra finished. The young man finally swiveled in his chair to face Sabra. His auburn and blonde hair was neatly cropped and combed, and his facial features were sharp and elegant, like that of a Mandalorian.

But there was something about this young man that caused Sabra to ponder. He resembled someone, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She quickly reached out in the Force but received nothing too helpful. There was a hint of the Force radiating off of the young man, but not enough to ever show up under a microscope in his midichlorian count or make him strong enough to become a Jedi.

“Is there a reason you’re staring so hard?” the young man asked pulling Sabra out of her thoughts.

“I don’t mean to be rude,” she said quickly. “You just look familiar yet I don’t even know you.”

Korkie rolled his eyes before beginning to turn away. “Must be some Jedi mind trick or whatever you guys do.”

Sabra sighed. She knew Mandalore didn’t exactly favor the Jedi but she didn’t expect anyone to be so hostile. She shrugged it off.

“I’m Sabra,” she said. “And I’m sorry that you aren’t finding what you’re looking for. Just thought I could be of some help is all.”

***

Korkie felt bad. This Sabra woman had only checked to make sure he was OK, and he was hammering pretty hard on the keyboard. He didn’t need any help. At least, he didn’t think he did. If he did, he could’ve asked his friends back at the Academy, but then again they were going to be out of reach for a few days and this was probably Korkie’s only chance to get any kind of help in figuring out his background and whether or not he was on a wild goose chase.

He signed and swiveled back around. “I’m Korkie,” he said, finally. Sabra turned to look at him.

“As in, the Duchess’s nephew himself?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“The one and only,” he said with his arms open wide. “I apologize for my agitation. I’m just not finding what I’m looking for.”

Sabra walked over and sat down in a chair next to him.

“I can understand the frustration,” she said. “Happens to me all the time. I sense that you are embarking on a life-changing journey of some kind.”

Korkie tried not to snicker at her comment, but she wasn’t wrong. “You could say that,” he said.

“Sometimes confiding in a stranger helps a solution come to light, at least that’s what my Master tells me,” she said, studying him. “Maybe I could be of some assistance?”

Korkie sighed and gathered up his holopads before switching off the computer. “I appreciate the generous offer but I don’t think so,” he said hastily gathering his belongings. “It was nice to meet you Sabra but your assistance is not needed at this time.”

Upon standing up to rush out of the library, a holopad slipped out from his arms and fell at his feet. Before he could reach out to pick it up, the holopad moved from under his hand and into Sabra’s through the Force. She began to scan the documents pulled up on the screen carefully.

“‘The Mysterious Nephew and a Miracle survival,’” she read. “‘Korkie Kryze, nephew to the Duchess of Mandalore found amongst rubble after tragic death of parents.’” Sabra tapped to the next page where she saw the DNA results from Korkie’s project. “For being a Klan Kryze descendant I would’ve assumed you would be full Mandalorian.”

Korkie sighed and turned to face her. There was no hiding anything now and who knows what she could do if he ignored her inquiries. He shifted the holopads into one arm and motioned for Sabra to follow him to a quieter part of the library.

“The truth is, I’m looking to discover who my parents are. Not the brother and sister of my Aunt Satine, but my real parents,” Korkie said. “And you’re right, I should have full Mandalorian blood running through my veins. But when I took a DNA test for a school project, the results showed that I’m not a full Mandalorian.”

Sabra looked closer at the results pulled up on her holopad. “Stewjoni?” she asked. “That’s a strange one to pull up on a Mandalorian’s DNA results. Stewjon isn’t even close to this system. Whoever you get that from must’ve come a long way to have relations with your other parent.”

“That’s why I need to look,” Korkie said. “I was always told that my parents were full Mandalorian, my father an heir to be Duke of Mandalore, and my mother was a part of Clan Elder before marrying my father. Clan Elder was more insistent on marrying within the Clan so there’s no explanation other than my mother lied about her heritage or…”

“Or your parents aren’t actually your real parents at all,” Sabra finished for him. Korkie nodded slowly. The thought didn’t sit right with him. He refused to believe that his parents or even his aunt would lie about their heritage or the potential that he had been lied to about more than just where he came from. Korkie shook it off for now, he couldn’t make any assumptions until he had proof.

“I thought looking through the palace archives would help, but it appears that they correspond to the story that my parents are full Mandalorian and I as Well.”

Sabra paused to think over the information that Korkie had given to her. Korkie had handed over one of the holopads to her so she could see the research he had done so far.

“The DNA test I performed on myself said that I am both Mandalorian and Stewjoni,” Korkie said summing up the report. “It also said that my birthday is about 11 months before my real one, so I’m almost a year older than I should be.”

Sabra considered this for a moment and try to think of any possible explanation for Korkie or what to do next. Having been Obi-Wan’s padawan for so long, research was becoming her first answer to everything, but she couldn’t just give a basic answer to Korkie like that.

“Is there a way we can access your parents’ birth certificates?” Sabra asked. Korkie pulled out another holopad and handed it to her with both of his parents names and dates of birth.

“I’ve already looked but they don’t say much other than the Clan they originated from and who their parents were. My father is full Clan Kryze and my mother is full Clan Elder. They were the first to marry outside of their Clan for two generations,” Korkie said sighing. He began to rub his eyes as Sabra looked closely at the certificates.

They were legitimate, with the right seals and dictation. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary for a birth certificate. She carefully scanned over Korkie’s parents’ certificates before she landed on Korkie’s. His looked similar to his parents, resembling his father’s certificate with the Clan Kryze seals. But something seemed to be a little off about Korkie’s birth certificate. For one thing, the handwriting seemed completely rushed and the proper signatures looked like a faded stamp rather than authentic signature.

“We could always look at the records to see when these were filed,” she suggested. “All libraries will have an entry log of when they were first filed.” Korkie looked up at her curiously. Why hadn’t he thought of that?

“And maybe we can find my parents medical records through that as well!” he said. “My mother had just given birth when she died, so there have to have been doctor records somewhere!” Korkie’s face fell again. “But those records are in a private library only accessible by my aunt, the prime minister and head bookmaker. It would be near impossible to get in. It’s always being guarded.”

Sabra sighed and began to think for a moment as Korkie gathered up his belongings to leave the library. They walked swiftly, down a different hallway into a much quieter part of the palace. Off in the distance to the right was a tall, navy door with two guards at either end.

“See?” Korkie whispered, trying not to capture their attention. The two slowly approached the guards but were quickly stopped by one of them.

“Nothing of interest for you lot,” the guard said holding up his hand. “I’m going to have to ask you to turn back to where you came from.” Korkie started to try and reason with the guard, seeing how far he could push the guard to letting them into the room but the guard wasn’t having it.

While Korkie and the guard argued, Sabra reached out into the Force to get a read on the area. The Force was very still. Not much was in this area other than this library. The palace really keep this records protected. Which made Sabra even more curious as to what as in that room. She carefully looked around the hallway before she noticed an air vent high up above them.

It looked big enough for a person to crawl through. She took a mental not of that before interrupting Korkie, who was trying to excuse that Satine has asked for him to go in that room.

“Please excuse us, sir,” she said, taking Korkie’s arm. “We won’t bother you again.”

The two started to walk away and stopped after rounding a corner away from the guards.

“Why’d you do that?” Korkie asked. “He was this close to letting us through.”

Sabra scoffed.

“That guard wasn’t going to let you do anything. And I don’t think he’ll budge no matter what our excuse is.” she said. “But don’t worry, I have a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooo what is Sabra's plan (even though I basically hinted at it)?
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you're enjoying this story so far!
> 
> And always I love getting comments and reviews!
> 
> Until next time!


	6. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! 
> 
> I've been on a writing streak so I'm trying to hammer out as much of this fic before I lose momentum so hopefully more chapters will be coming. I'm also making them a little longer to hold everyone over while I form this story. It's been really nice to take a break away from writing news to writing fiction and it feels so good to be able to tell this story that I've had thought out for years. I hope you all are enjoying it so far and that it's able to distract you from the crazy world we are living in right now.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter! Reviews are much appreciated!

**Chapter Five**

**Before…**

They had to have ditched the bounty hungers by now. It seemed as though they had been running for miles. And the rain was coming down so much harder from when they had to flee from town.

Obi-Wan gripped Satine’s hand harder as they sprinted through the pelting rain. He could still sense the presence of the hunters fast on their trail, but he could also sense Satine’s legs ready to give out at any moment. They needed to take shelter and fast.

Qui-Gon had split up from the both of them and took off toward the trees in an attempt to confuse the bounty hunters, forcing them to follow him and not Satine. Obi-Wan could sense his Master was nearby, but probably wouldn’t find them until whenever the rain stopped and the bounty hunter’s had been taken care of.

Obi-Wan reached out into the Force to gather his bearings on where they were. It was dense, thick forest for miles around them. The uneven rockiness of the mountains they ran through could only hold off someone for so long before they would stumble upon the Duchess and her Jedi protector. In the Force, he then sensed a hint of warmth and emptiness. A cave, not far from where they were. It was hidden behind a dense patch of vines, tree roots and weeds. It wasn’t a large cave but it would comfortably hide the two from any impending danger. Obi-Wan tugged on Satine’s arm, sensing her tiredness.

“Just a little further,” he said, following the Force until they quite literally stumbled on a large hole covered by thick branches and tangled up plants. The pair quickly dove for the cave, hitting and rolling on the dirt ground until they were safely inside the cave. Quickly, Obi-Wan stood to rearrange the plants they had charged through, safely concealing the cave. If they were still being followed, and Obi-Wan could sense they were, no one could find the Duchess of Mandalore, huddling in a cave, clinging to her Jedi protector’s robes as he tuned to the Force and wait for an all-clear.

Shortly after, the Force quietly tamed itself. They were safe, for now. Obi-Wan ran a hand through his soaked, growing hair and took a moment to catch his breath. He could hear Satine sitting next to him, panting from their run and terrified of what had just happened.

“Are they gone?” she managed to ask. Obi-Wan put an arm around her and pulled her close, trying to soothe her the way Qui-Gon did.

“For now,” he said quietly, stroking the back of her head. Satine was trembling, trying to catch her breath as she clung to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan could sense her uneasiness, justifiably so, and tried to send calming waves to her through the Force, which was proving to be slightly difficult because he was feeling uneasy about their situation himself.

The cave was not very big at all, with barely enough room for the two of them, but it was dry and shielded them from the winds outside. Both of their clothes were thoroughly soaked through from the rain and the cool earth of the cave made them both shiver violently to try and create some kind of warmth.

Obi-Wan wrapped Satine tighter in his arms in an attempt to make her warm and looked around at the tiny space they’d dove into. It had grown very dark by the time they had settled inside, and the cave was barely bigger than the cockpit of a single-pilot ship. Even if Obi-Wan were to ignite his lightsaber to create some warmth, it would only slice through all of the concealing vines and give away their cover fast.

The opening to the cave was also quite small, Obi-Wan was surprised that neither of them had hit one’s head coming in. The opening was covered, top to bottom with thick vines and branches that only looked worse than before Obi-Wan had tried to put them back in place.

He closed his eyes and searched through the Force to get a better bearing on his surroundings. The bounty hunters had been misled and were now running down another path in the forest that took them far away from Obi-Wan and Satine. Judging by their confidence radiating in the Force, they wouldn’t be turning back any time soon.

He also nudged gently at the training bond he shared with Qui-Gon, rippling feelings of safety and warmth to let him know they were safe and hidden for now. Qui-Gon’s end was silent, but still responsive. He was thankfully still alive. After a few moments, with the gentlest of nudges, he responded to Obi-Wan.

_Stay,_ he said very faintly through their bond before raising and reinforcing his shields to hide his signature.

_Yes, master,_ Obi-Wan said back before doing the same and focusing back on Satine, who had calmed down now and was looking around at their bearings. Through the darkness, Obi-Wan could see she was looking up at him, a glint of fear but also security resting in her eyes.

They were alone again. To make it worse, they were alone with each other.

Obi-Wan broke his eye contact and gulped quietly, feeling the tension rise in the small confinements of the cave. Now was really not the time for this. Satine’s hand slowly fell from his shoulder until it rested over his chest, making his manhood start to swell. Obi-Wan’s hand slowly slid down her back until it rested on her hip. His eyes suddenly became deadlocked with hers. Their gaze nearly impossible to attempt to break.

“Qui-Gon is safe,” Obi-Wan blurted out causing Satine to give him a weird look.

“Oh good,” she said awkwardly. "My knights to the rescue once again."

They were silent again. Obi-Wan gulped. She was really close to him and her face was slowly getting closer and closer to his. Her fingers were rubbing at the hems of his tunic as she leaned in closer until she touched her lips to his. Obi-Wan inhaled sharply at the sensation of the kiss, but lost the feeling when Satine quickly pulled away. There was shock in her eyes, nerves radiating off of her. They both froze for a second, stunned at what had just happened. But before either could say a word, their lips met again, this time staying together in one long, intoxicating kiss. Her lips were so soft and they only enticed himmore as her tongue gently prodded through her lips to nudge his. He wrapped both his arms around her shoulders to bring her closer as her hand rested over his belly. Her other arm had wrapped fully around his waste until they had each other tight in their arms.

_Stop this,_ Obi-Wan was telling himself. _You shouldn’t be doing this._

But he couldn’t resist. He didn’t realize how much he’d been wanting to kiss her until that very moment. Now they were feverishly making out, Satine slowly crawling into Obi-Wan’s lap to straddle him. Her fingers were combing through his hair, sending chills down his back. His hands were roaming up and down hers, eventually resting on her hips to bring her close. Suddenly he could feel his dick become swollen. What if she could feel it under her? He quickly pulled away panting and began to sweat at his brow. He shifted so that Satine was sitting on his thighs instead as he began to catch his breath.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that,” he said quickly as Satine climbed off of his lap. She looked confused, then guilty as Obi-Wan drew up his legs to his chest to hide his erection.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, burrowing back down in the small cave. “It won’t happen again.”

Obi-Wan felt guilty now. She thought he didn't like her kiss. He hadn’t meant to make her feel bad but he knew that as much as he enjoyed her kiss, he couldn’t break the Code any more than he already had. He began to think of what Qui-Gon would say if he’d known but then quickly realized how childish of him that sounded. He let out his breath quietly before slipping his hand in hers. He began to send feelings of calmness and serenity to her.

Through the Force, Obi-Wan could sense that she understood what he was trying to say without saying anything at all. She then leaned in close, burying herself under Obi-Wan’s arms and wrapping hers around his waist again. This time, closing her eyes. Obi-Wan rested his arm on her shoulder and closed his eyes as well before the two slowly fell asleep.

**Now…**

The palace had prepared for the dinner on the first night of the senator’s stay. Senator Organa had said the Duchess must’ve planned it that way while guests were expressing forced politeness in preparation for the debates that would soon come during their stay.

The Duchess had accepted invites from one representative from the Republic, and one representative from the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The senator sent from the Separatist movement was Vickra Griehm from the Raxus system, where the Confederacy headquarters were. Sabra had only heard minimal information about Vickra, but from what she had heard, he was a civil man with a stern tone but calming demeanor.

Not that it mattered anyway, because Sabra and Korkie weren’t going to be at the dinner for very long.

After having been turned away by the guards in front of the secret library, Korkie and Sabra had returned to Korkie’s bedroom where they laid out their plan.

“The security is going to be concentrated on the Duchess’s dinner and her guests,” Sabra said. “That many important people in one room is often a target. So, we will sneak out of the dinner back to the library and try accessing the records database from one of the computers there. I’m sure there’s a way we could bypass that security.”

Korkie was writing all of this down and contemplating the idea. She made this sound so easy, like she’d done this before. But then, he reminded himself she was a Jedi and probably had.

“How many times have you done this before?” he asked.

“That’s the thing… I haven’t,” Sabra responded. “But I’m hoping that because of your status and the fact that the databases won’t be as heavily monitored, we might be able to find a way into those restricted files without having to go near the library at all. I have a few tricks up my sleeves that I’ve wanted to try out but have never been given the chance.”

Korkie mulled this over but the more he thought about it, the more it didn’t make sense. “And what if it doesn’t work then?” he asked starting to sound aggravated.

Sabra hesitated. She hadn’t really gotten that far. Korkie huffed out a breath and slammed his notebook on the table. “I don’t know about this.” he said. “I’ve never gone against my aunt’s rules before. It feels wrong.”

He began to pace back and forth with nerves. On one hand, he would be able to see whether the records were hiding something he wasn’t aware of. But on the other, it was a security risk and could get him in serious trouble. Then his thoughts turned to Sabra. How could this Jedi be so OK with bypassing codes and firewalls to find information. Was this something she’d really done before?

“No. No we have to find another way.” he said finally.

“What do you have in mind, then?” Sabra asked but before she could ask anymore, Korkie was shuffling her out of his room.

“Nothing! I have nothing in mind because I’ve changed it! It just must’ve been a glitch in the system and I’m overthinking. You don’t even have an idea of who I am anyway!”

Sabra could sense Korkie’s sudden burst of anger and frustration that flushed over him like a thundering waterfall as he pushed her toward the door.

“I just wanted to be of some help,” Sabra said when she’d been pushed into the hallway.

“Well, I don’t want your help, Jedi,” he said before slamming the door shut. Sabra stood in the hallway confused. First he’d allowed her to help and now he was shoving her into the hallway with a sudden anger and frustration that came out of nowhere. Sabra took a breath and shook it off and began to walk to her quarters to meditate.

“Boys…” she muttered to herself.

***

The dinner was taking place out in the palace gardens on a cool evening. Representatives from the Council of Neutral Systems and their guests were conversing with each other while sipping on flutes of champagne and sparkling water. Everyone was dressed in their finest dining robes and tunics of different colors and system emblems. Waiters and banquet staff walked around with trays of crackers, cheeses and other finger foods for the guests to munch on while they waited for dinner to be served.

Sabra walked alongside Senator Organa as they entered the palace gardens. The senator’s clothing was much more lavish than what he normally wore to Senate meetings on the daily, with more traces of gold and fabrics in his robes.

Sabra hardly ever wore her ceremonial robes, even when she was back at the Temple. For the most part they would just sit in a trunk near her sleep couch untouched. They resembled that of what most Senator’s wore to go to work every day. Hers were long, sky blue robes with flowing sleeves little yellow stitchings long the front.

Normally the Jedi Alliance and Republic symbols were stitched on her right upper arms, but her master had helped gently remove the Jedi symbol just in case.

She’d also switched up her hairstyle too. Rather than letting it get matted in a knotted braid, she combed out her hair, pinning some of her locks up to make herself look more like a guest and less like a warrior.

“You look lovely, young one,” Senator Organa had said as they walked toward the dinner area. Sabra had blushed, as she never really received compliments on her appearance. Ever. It was a nice feeling, but one that she knew she shouldn’t get used to.

Sabra immediately took notice of Senator Griehm’s presence in the Force upon entering the dining area. She looked toward the edge of the corner near the head table where she saw a tall humanoid man, but he wasn’t human. His head was tall and angled with a peachy-orange skin tone and wide eyes. He was conversing very quietly with a guest from another senator. He turned his head when he saw Sabra and Senator Organa approach the dining area.

“Senator Bail Organa,” he said, lightly bowing his head. “A pleasure it is to see you again.”

Senator Organa returned the gesture before shaking the senators hand. “You as well. The Senate has not been the same since you’ve left.”

“Ah and here we are with the same goal for different sides,” Griehm said before turning to Sabra. “A Jedi, it has been a long time since I’ve been in the presence of one.”

Sabra stiffly bowed and returned a rigid smile. “Good evening, senator,” she said, trying to hold back any remarks about the Separatist. “I will say I wasn’t expecting such politeness from a Separatist.”

Senator Griehm let out a low booming laugh as Senator Organa shot her a look. “Ah it’s alright, Bail, it’s alright. She’s a youngling and probably doesn’t remember the split when it happened,” he said before turning back to Sabra. “It might surprise you to know that not all of us left the Republic to destroy peaceful lands and trample over innocent lives.”

Sabra was suddenly taken aback by Senator Griehm’s brash response.

“I simply left the Republic because I didn’t feel that the Senate was doing its duty to the people it served,” he said.

Sabra began to feel shame creep over her, which she quickly released into the Force. “My apologies, Senator,” she said. “I hope you will forgive me.”

Griehm let out a small smile then turned back to Bail.

“Come let us put aside politics for a night and catch up over a drink,” he said.

“That sounds lovely. I’ll join you momentarily,” he said before turning to Sabra. “Master Kenobi said you were a bold one but I wasn’t expecting that.”

“My apologies, Senator,” Sabra said quietly. “I spoke out of line and it will not happen again.”

Bail let out a chuckle and put a hand on her shoulder. “I know this war has been confusing for you and many of your fellow Padawans. There is still a lot to learn. Now enjoy being a young woman rather than a soldier for once. I’ll return to our table when the dinner starts.”

Sabra returned a smile that Bail had shown before he walked to join Senator Griehm. Normally, Sabra was good at making conversation with strangers, but here it felt different. She was able to strike up conversation with some of the neutral system representatives before breaking off to start finding her spot for dinner.

The Duchess had taken her seat at the head table and called for everyone’s attention once they had sat down.

“Representatives, senators and guests,” she said. “It is my humble pleasure to welcome you all to Mandalore where I hope our conversations remain civil and our relationships reinforced. But before business ensues, let us enjoy a warm meal together in light of a few moments of peace.”

“Here, here!” some of the representatives and senators chided in agreement.

The dinner was in fact plentiful, with a hearty cream soup, a roasted fish and an assortment of vegetables that all made Sabra’s mouth water. Meals like this were rare for Jedi. Most of the time at the Temple, meals were simple, usually nothing more than a rice or grain with vegetables and a meat on the rarest of occasions.

Master Kenobi had always taught her to not overindulge int he food provided before her, but he wasn’t here right now and Sabra couldn’t help but politely indulge on the meal she was given. Around her, she listened in on the different conversations. A table of neutral representatives were questioning why the Republic and Separatists were here in the first place while another was hoping that the war would end soon so that free transit was legal again.

Sabra concentrated then on Senator Griehm’s table where they were discussing quietly the ways they could persuade the Duchess to join allegiance with the Separatists. From what she could understood, it mostly had to do with contracts and trade, not necessarily protection by the army. Sabra snorted to herself at the thought of this senator telling the Duchess how their military officers could provide protection to the Mandalorian people.

She’d been in way to many head-on battles with Ventress and Grievous to know that that promise would be shallow.

Her conversation turned back to Senator Organa where they began to discuss her thoughts on Mandalore so far.

“It’s not what I was expecting for one thing,” Sabra said. “Here, it’s almost as if there isn’t a war going on at all.”

Senator Organa wiped at his beard from the bite he’d just taken.

“Being a neutral system, Mandalore keeps any discussion of the ongoing war to a minimum so as not to raise panic among her people. If I remember it’s part of her way of keeping the system pacifist and prevent any indication that the system would join either side.”

“But isn’t that censoring the public on important security knowledge? Shouldn’t they be allowed to know what’s going on and what could possibly be coming?”

Senator Organa let out a chuckle. “You may be getting older but you still have much to learn about the ways of the neutral systems,” he said. “Of course the Duchess understands that many citizens need to know the happenings in other parts of the galaxy. But her fear is that by reporting too much on the war, her people would abandon the pacifism she’s established and push for Mandalore to join the war as well. Speaking of the Duchess, I saw you were talking with her nephew yesterday. Have you made a new friend?”

Sabra hesitated as she tried to find an answer. “Sort of,” she said. “He’s not very talkative I suppose.” As she was talking about Korkie, she began to realize she hadn’t seen him all evening. He was the Duchess’s guest after all and the place that was set for him next to her was empty. Sabra reached out into the Force to see if she could sense his presence but it wasn’t in the gardens. He was still inside the palace. Sabra wiped her mouth one last time before standing up.

“If you’ll excuse me, Senator Organa, but I believe I left something in my quarters. I’ll be back shortly,” she said before letting the Force guide her to where her troubled new friend might be.

***

The Force had lured Sabra back to the same library she’d met Korkie yesterday. He was radiating frustration and confusion again. As she approached the library, she saw him hunched over another computer, angrily clicking away at the keyboard and being rejected for each attempt he made at trying to access records.

He was dressed in his dinner clothes as well, but rather than sitting next to the Duchess, he was in here, desperately looking for answers. On the final try and final attempt of rejection, Korkie slammed his fist against the table and rubbed his eyes. He was getting nowhere fast and he knew it. Why hadn’t he asked one of his friends from school to help? They would’ve known what to do.

“It appears that the Force finds us here again,” Sabra said from behind, startling Korkie to almost fall out of his chair. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

Korkie caught his breath and huffed. “Shouldn’t you be at the dinner or something?” he asked aggravated.

“Shouldn’t you?” Sabra responded. Korkie sighed and realized he’d been caught.

“Yes,” he said quietly, his Force signature curling in on itself in shame. Sabra sighed and sat down next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“I won’t tell,” she said, Korkie looking up at her briefly. “But obviously you can’t find anything out alone. You need my help whether you like it or not.”

Korkie nodded and passed some of his holopads over to her. “I haven’t been able to get anywhere. The records I want to access are under protection or aren’t available to access from this library without authorization. But even then I can’t authorize out here.”

“Well even if you could, how would you be able to gain access? There’s bound to be a keycard or password protecting this files,” Sabra said. Korkie shyly reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin keycard.

Before Sabra could ask, he answered, “I snuck it off of my Auntie’s desk. I went in this morning while she was getting ready and as she was leaving, I swiped it from her desk. I was hoping I could scan in on the files while she was at the dinner.”

Sabra sighed and sat back. “Two steps forward but always one step back.”

Korkie nodded, but then started thinking. “As a Jedi, you sneak around right?”

Sabra gave him a quizzical look. “Sometimes,” she said, watching where this was going carefully. The Force around Korkie had changed and now he was becoming inquisitive.

“So you know how to sneak into rooms without anyone detecting,” he said.

“Only when I need to… what are you getting at?”

“Follow me,” he said gathering his holopads and taking her hand. Korkie pulled Sabra out of the library and down the darkened palace halls. The long, sleek hallways were illuminated barely by the moon glowing outside and the reflection of the lights from the garden below. Sabra and Korkie walked around to the far back side of the palace, back to near the secret library. But rather than rounding the corner, Korkie stopped her just before.

“I did some research last night,” he whispered. “If we crawl through this air duct, it will land us right over the research library where we can drop down and access everything we want to know.”

Sabra looked down at the air duct. It was surprisingly big for a palace ventilation shaft. But there were no screws to hold it into place. Korkie began to pull out his utility knife to file away at the vent but Sabra stopped him.

“Are you sure about this?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said quickly. “If we don’t do it now I may never have the courage to do it again. And…” he hesitated swallowing. “Having a Jedi on my side right now may help.”

Sabra let out a giggle while folding her arms. “Funny, first you criticize me coming and now you’re enlisting my help?”

Korkie rolled his eyes. “Yes, fine, I admit I need your help, now can we get on with this? I need to pry this vent off the wall.”

Sabra stepped back and before looking around raised her hands and concentrated on the vent, taking in the cool metal, the shaping and the edges that attached it to the wall until she became unified with it. She took in a small breath before slowly and carefully removing it from the wall without making a sound.

“Go inside,” she whispered to Korkie, who nodded and shuffled into the air duct. He started to crawl ahead, making room for Sabra as she slowly eased into the shaft herself, still holding the vent, and carefully returning it to its place on the wall until it made the quietest click back into place.

“So that’s the Force,” Korkie whispered. Sabra nodded.

“Yes, now let’s get going. The dinner won’t last for long.”

The two teenagers began to crawl through the ducts, trying not to make a sound. Sabra kept her head concentrated in the Force, trying not to lose track of where they’d gone as they wound deeper and deeper into the ducts. After a few minutes, Korkie stopped to where the ducts faced the entrance to the library, angling up to make an arch over the hallway and connect to the library.

“Crawl into the space and stand. I’ll boost you up onto the ledge of the duct,” Sabra said.

Korkie did as told and began to stand in the narrowing air duct. He hadn’t realized it but his heart was racing. The only thing hiding him from the guards and the library were the steal platings of the ducts and the thick plaster of the walls. Before he could ask how to get up to the top of the duct, Korkie felt his feet leave the ground and the floor drop from underneath him.

It was almost as if two arms had taken him from under his arms and tossed him into the air like a child until he was gently seated at the end of the duct. Breathless, he looked down and could see Sabra beginning to stand and follow. As Korkie scooted back farther into the duct, inching his way over the halls and the guards, Sabra jumped and appeared in front of him, landing quietly on the lifted duct.

“Jedi,” he whispered to himself, shaking his head. The two crawled quietly over the ducts that hovered the hallways and the guards, who could be seen through a metal grate that overlooked the space. “We’re almost there,” Korkie whispered, his hand slipping and his elbow hitting hard on the metal below.

The two guards immediately looked up as the two teenagers froze.

“Fuck,” Korkie muttered to himself. Sabra held up a finger ordering him to be quiet. The guards were looking at each other, then back up in the ducts.

“Must be the pressurizers acting up again,” one of the guards said. “If we hear it again we can send Teeba up there and check it out.”

The two guards returned to their stances as the teenagers quickly slid over a few more feet, until they sat above a final covering that peaked down into a small computer room. There were only two systems in the center and a mass of holobooks on the surrounding walls. There was no other security system other than motion detectors in the windows in case someone tried to break in that way. Other than that, they were home free.

Sabra was able to remove the metal grate from the ceiling and rest it gently against the desk. Then, calling on the Force for assistance, dropped in from the duct and let the Force carefully and quietly set her down on the floor. Then, as Korkie slipped and fell from the ceiling, she quickly put her hands out to slow his fall, placing him gently on the floor next to her.

“Thanks,” he said as he dusted himself off. “That was easier than I anticipated.”

“Yeah, a little too easy if you ask me,” Sabra said looking around. “We should be quick. Do you know what you’re looking for?”

Korkie took to one of the monitors and began quickly typing away.

“I think so. I’m downloading anything that pertains to me or my parents onto this information drive so I can sift over it later,” he said. A small cartridge rose up from the desk, where Korkie placed his aunt’s keycard. It snapped perfectly into place and withdrew back into the desk. “I’m in.”

Korkie began to scroll through any files or information he might find helpful. He moved any files that had his name or birth date, anything about his mother and his father from medical records to milestone certificates and reports. He even began to pull old news articles from around the time he was found. If it was related to him at all, even just one mention of his name, he was copying it onto his little hand drive.

“OK, now we just wait for the copies to be made and then I’m good,” Korkie said standing up. “I can sift through the information later tonight and see what we came up with.”

The two teenagers glanced over at the window, where they caught a glimpse of the party down below. Dessert hadn’t been served yet and by Sabra’s thinking, they had about 10 minutes untilsomeone would notice they both were gone, especially Korkie.

“What happens if your aunt finds out you were in here?” Sabra found herself asking. Korkie sheepishly sighed.

“I haven’t quite gotten there yet,” he admitted. “I didn’t think we’d make it this far to even…”

Before Korkie could say another word, he had elbowed something on the desk, causing it to crash and fall onto the floor with a loud rustle.

“Shit!” Korkie angrily whispered. Outside, the two could hear the guards questioning the noise. “They’re suspicious.” Korkie said quickly.

“How much longer on those files?” Sabra asked quickly picking the books up and grabbing the metal grate for the duct.

“Just a few seconds more!” Korkie said lightly pounding on his thigh. Outside, they could hear the guards shuffling their feet, ready to open the door and investigate the noise. Sabra grabbed Korkie.

“There’s no time!” she said quickly. With all she could muster, she tossed Korkie with the Force back into the duct and jumped up to join him, snapping the grate back in place as the guards walked into the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> But what about the disk drive you might be asking? Will they find a way to get it back or will it be confiscated and push the two teenagers back to square one?
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, especially the little scene between Obi-Wan and Satine. I'm going to have more scenes with them in future chapters as the fiction wraps up, don't worry Obitine fans, it's coming. 
> 
> Kudos and comments are much appreciated and I hope you're enjoying this story. For now, stay safe and healthy during this crazy time! Cheers!


	7. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I didn't realize more than a month had passed since I last posted to this story. Finals also caught up with me so I had to get those over with before finishing up this chapter.
> 
> Anyway, thank you all so much for the likes and kudos. They really mean a lot to me and I'm glad you all really like the story! As always, feel free to rate, review and leave a kudos if you're enjoying the story and with that, enjoy this next chapter!

Sabra and Korkie held their breaths as they watched the two guards slowly walk into the room, surveying the scene. The disk drive had ejected and was waiting in the computer to be taken out. The guards hadn’t quite reached the computer as they looked around the little library for any clues of something being out of place. Each step they took closer to the computer made the two teenagers heart beat even faster.

“We need to get that disk before they notice,” Korkie whispered abruptly. Sabra took a deep breath to try and center her anxiety. She quietly called on the Force to surround her and become one with it as she closed her eyes and slowly let out her hand. She called on the little disk drive, studying the signature it radiated until it responded to her command, quietly lifting out of its input to lay flat on the desk.

Sabra steadied her breath as she gently guided the disk drive to slide quietly across the desk, and down the side where the guards couldn’t see it. It gently rested to the floor and propped up against one of the desk legs, disguised from the guards as they approached the desk.

“Wait!” Korkie whispered putting a hand on her shoulder. Sabra could feel his heart pounding inside his chest and the anxiety and worry pour out of him like an overflowing refresher sink. It was distracting.

“I know,” Sabra said shoving him off. “Any moment now.”

The guards stopped at the desk, looking closely at the state in front of them. Before jumping back into the vent, Sabra had powered down the monitor so that it would look untouched while still downloading the files onto Korkie’s drive.

As the two guards looked over the desk, Sabra moved the disk drive, hovering it over the ground so as not to make a sound, and slid it to the holobook shelf where the light from the holobooks would distract the little drive floating its way up the wall into the vent.

At the last second, Sabra hastened the drive to shoot right up from the books, through the vent and into her hand, where she closed her fist around it and let out a quiet breath of relief.

“Let’s get out of here,” Sabra said. She and Korkie turned to all fours and began to crawl away, completely oblivious to the ripping sound as part of Korkie’s top fabric that had gotten stuck in the shut vent ripped away from his tunic. The two quickly and quietly shuffled out of the ventilation shafts and back out to the hallway, dusting themselves off and quickly walking away from the secret library.

“That was way too close,” Sabra said as they walked.

“It doesn’t matter now. We have everything we need,” Korkie said holding up the disk drive. “Now we can…”

Korkie was quickly interrupted by Duchess Satine, who was looking frantic as she approached themwith one of the palace guards close behind. Korkie quickly hid his hand behind his back while Sabra straightened out her robes.

“There you two are!’ she said, wiping her forehead off. “We were wondering where you’d disappeared off to. What were you up to? And what was that in your hand?”

Sabra glanced over at Korkie, who was starting to panic as he thought of an explanation for why he hadn’t come to the dinner or why his hand was hidden. He couldn’t let Satine see the drive and quickly tucked it into the back pocket of his pants that were covered by his overcoat.

“Nothing, just a school file,” Korkie said quickly. “And I was showing our esteemed Jedi guest around different parts of the palace and teaching her of the history of Mandalore.”

“My apologies, your highness,” Sabra followed. “We will not wander off again.”

The two teenagers followed Satine and the guard back to the gardens for the rest of the party. Sabra took the moment to read into the Force. No one was frustrated with the two of them, and Korkie was remarkably calm as they walked through the darkened hallways which seemed much more daunting as they returned to the dinner party.

Korkie followed his aunt as they returned to the gardens to mingle with some representatives while Sabra met back up with Senator Organa.

“Is everything alright, Padawan?” Bail asked. Sabra shook her head, watching as Korkie engaged in conversation as if nothing had happened at all. He was holding a flute of what was probably some kind of cider or juice, with a tame smile and shine in his eyes as if they hadn’t just crawled through the ventilation ducts while narrowly escaping the palace guards. Sabra really hated lying, especially to kind-hearted Senator Organa but she also wasn’t really in the mood to be told that she had done something wrong.

“Everything is fine, Senator, thank you for asking,” Sabra said. “I guess I’ve become so fascinated by Mandalore just from what I’ve seen in the palace that I wanted to see what else there was to see.”

Senator Organa’s expression softened and a small smile was beginning to form on his face.

“I admire your interest in learning about the palace so long as it doesn’t get you into trouble,” he said. “But I’m glad that you are using this trip as a means of education.”

A faint disturbance began to show presence in the Force then, causing Sabra to take a quick survey of the dinner event. Everyone was accounted for from what she could tell and no one seemed to be doing anything suspicious. But then it occurred to her that someone else was in fact missing. Where was Senator Griehm?

_Maybe conspiring with the Separatists about a plan of attack,_ Sabra muttered to herself, only to release her distastefulness to the affiliation in to the Force. And Senator Griehm hadn’t seemed all that bad from what she first interpreted and only seemed to be following a cause he thought was right. He probably wasn’t even aware of the suffering the Separatists were causing across the galaxy.

The Force began to lure Sabra to a quieter corner of the gardens where tall hedges and bushes were gathered. The farther she walked closer to the area, the more muffled and quiet it made the sounds of the dinner and the stronger disturbance the Force was trying to lure her to. The Force felt anxious and unnerving, like waiting impatiently for the delivering of news. She then could pick up the little bits and pieces of a conversation happening in this area of the dinner, and the tension that was building up the closer she got.

Sabra approached one large encasement of bushes and tall hedges that created a small pocket of space that was out of view of the rest of the garden where she picked up what sounded like Senator Griehm whispering anxiously into a comm link.

“So you got all the files?” he said into the little device.

“Yes sir,” a deep voice said from the comm link. “The files had already been pulled up and appeared to have been accessed before we got there. We inserted one of the palace drives to make it appear as if we were doing recovery work.”

Sabra felt the lurch in the Force then, her heart beating faster as she tried to listen in closer. She tried channeling the Force’s adrenaline to instead calm herself and listen closer to the conversation at hand.

“Excellent work. Find a way to deliver the files to me and I’ll send them to headquarters,” Griehm said.

“What does the boss want these files for?” whoever was on the intercom asked. “The nature of the files looked personal and of no significance for…”

“Shut up!” Griehm hissed into the comm. “It’s not your business to question the boss’s motives. Now I don’t want to hear a word about it from you again!” Griehm cut off the communication and shoved the link into his pocket before running a hand over his robes to straighten out. He took a deep breath and turned to walk away.

Sabra quietly tiptoed around the hedge as the Senator made his way back to the dinner party. As he walked, he was dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief and smoothening his hands over his robes again as he rejoined the group. After she was sure she was safe, Sabra returned as well, passing Korkie as she did so. Before she could completely pass him, she watched as he mouthed _My quarters,_ before turning his attention back to his aunt.

***

The rest of the dinner party was quite enjoyable. After the confusing intel Sabra had discovered from Griehm, and the little bit of champagne served to her with dessert, her head was spinning and she could feel herself becoming exhausted. She couldn’t thank the maker enough when the dinner was over and it was time to part ways for the evening.

When she was sure that everyone had retired to their rooms, Sabra walked the quiet hallways to Korkie’s room where she was quickly pulled inside.

“Took you long enough!” Korkie cried as he closed the door behind her. “I’ve already begun to dive through these files and there’s so much to look at.”

The two teenagers sat down at the small desk where Korkie had sheets of flimsiplast all over the desk covering data pads and holobooks that were opened to different files. Man this kid had worked fast. It appeared as if he’d already combed through everything in the short time since they’d last seen each other.

“So what do I need to do?” Sabra asked, sitting down and taking in all of the information laid out before her as she cast her distress and overwhelm into the Force.

“Well I figured, we could put together a timeline based on all of this documentation we pulled from the database,” Korkie said. “I’ve done up one from the information I could find in the library and with what Aunt Satine told me. So if we make two and compare them, maybe we’ll see if there are any disparities.”

Sabra picked up one of the many holopads and began to scroll through files. She took notes of information she already knew like significant events during the Mandalorian Civil War and when Satine officially took the throne as duchess. All of those dates matched up perfectly with what they already knew.

Korkie began to look through his father’s records, noting education accomplishments, medical records and any documentation after his parents were married. Alastorwas everything Aunt Satine had said he was, educated, well-rounded and charming.

At the age of 18 standard years, Alastor Kryze was already being bred to be Duke of Mandalore. He would make the occasional diplomatic trip with Grandfather Adonai off world when the galaxy wasn’t divided between Republic and Separatist. The Holonews raved about him and how when it was his time to take over Mandalore, he would lead the system to continued prosperity for generations beyond.

Alastor Kryze married Korkie’s mother Prilla Elder when the couple was 21 standard years, when Aunt Satine was around 18 and Aunt Bo-Katan was 15. Korkie stumbled upon his parents marriage certificate and noted the dates. Aunt Satine hadn’t noted much about their wedding day, but seeing the marriage license made Korkie’s heart swell. It was another piece of information he could carry close to his heart.

He reached a point in the documentation that led up to the outbreak of the Mandalorian Civil War where he would have to rely on what Áine had told him. There weren’t many official documents that he could reference, only Holonews articles from outside the Mandalorian system that reported on this catastrophe. The coverage started with the execution of Adonai Kryze and his wife after a terrorist group (later identified as Death Watch) stormed the palace armed to their teeth in weapons.

Images in the article showed the damaged palace with smoke billowing everywhere, broken windows and the legacy Kryze had continued burnt to pieces. Korkie was taken aback looking at the holopictures and videos. Looking at the palace now, he would’ve never guessed such terror and devastation happened and no wonder his Aunt had become so uptight about weapons and tools for destruction in the system. The thoughts of this sent chills down Korkie’s spine.

“Alright,” he said finally with a breath. “I’ve made it up to the execution of my grandparents. Find anything?”

Sabra was deep in thought as she skimmed through her datapads. She had begun to search through Korkie’s mother’s records, which were fewer in number because she came from a different clan. Her records began when Prilla and Alastor were married and she was officially a member of the Clan Kryze. Prilla was not as involved diplomatically but that didn’t mean she wasn’t invisible when it came to her husband’s politics.

In some diary pages that had been recovered from the wreck of Alastor and Prilla’s home, she had written about how she loved to hear Alastor talk about Mandalorian policy and their diplomatic discussions on how situations could be handled better to instill more peace across their system.

“Lot’s of lovey-dovey stuff I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading,” Sabra said sitting up in her chair. “I’ve just opened up your mother’s medical records.”

Upon opening the folder, Sabra’s screen lit up with hundreds of medical records, recorded visits and doctor’s notes. Sabra couldn’t find anything detailing of a pre-existing condition or long-term illness, but what really caught her was when she reached records for the time that Prilla had discovered she was pregnant.

There practically were none. Alastor and Prilla had announced their pregnancy a few weeks before Adonai and his wife were executed and Satine was forced to flee Sundari. There were two records of Prilla’s prenatal care before her death.

“Despite your mother having an extensive number of health records, there are only two that discuss her pregnancy,” Sabra said, motioning for Korkie to come and look. “With the level of healthcare concentrated on your family, there should be more records than that listed here but there isn’t.”

The first record detailed a confirmation of Prilla’s pregnancy, along with a due date, next steps and scheduled upcoming appointments she would have with a private doctor.

“That’s not my birthday,” he said. “It’s not even close to when I was born. This record is almost a full year and a half before my real birthday.” Korkie pulled out the DNA test from back at school and looked at the date listed there as well, along with his own birth certificate that had a third date. “So we have my mother’s due date, then the date that’s printed on my birth certificate, and the birth date from my DNA test. But neither these doctor records or my birth certificate match the DNA test.”

Sabra looked at all three dates scribbled down. “These dates don’t make any sense,” she said staring at them. “Let’s see what the second record details.”

The second record was shorter and less detailed than the first one. It was paperwork stating that a few months into her pregnancy, Prilla had miscarried. Korkie and Sabra stared at the date. She’d only been pregnant for a few months, and knew she was pregnant for only a few weeks. Anything after that were records officially marking her death, and Alastor’s only a short time later.

Korkie and Sabra sat frozen, confused. What they thought could help clear the image was only making it blurrier and blurrier.

“That’s impossible,” Korkie said, running a hand through his hair. “So, my mother wasn’t actually pregnant?”

Sabra put down the datapad and sighed. “No, she was pregnant. She just…not with you. She never gave birth at all.”

Korkie looked at all the newspaper files, certificates, medical records that were scattered across the table. His parents’ entire lives were laid out right in front of him and he wasn’t in a part of it at all.

“So what does that mean for me?” Korkie asked pulling out the articles that detailed Korkie having been found amidst the rubble and destruction of his parents’ home. “If my mother never gave birth to me, then why did they find me in the rubble? Where does my story fit in?”

Sabra looked up at him, staring into space with his eyes on his toes. He suddenly looked very small, and very young. All of the other information like his parent’s marriage certificate and Alastor’s accomplishments suddenly meant nothing to him. He had a story and it wasn’t fitting in anywhere. “There are hundreds of medical records in this file. The ones of my mother when she was pregnant with me have to be in there somewhere. You must’ve missed them!”

Sabra picked the datapad back up and started sifting through them. She could feel Korkie’s emotions radiating and pulsing through the Force. He was exerting his confusion and sadness into fear and it was starting to make her light-headed.

“There’s nothing else in here dictating that your mother was pregnant other than the records listed here,” Sabra said weakly.

The room suddenly felt really hot as Korkie stood. He could feel the sweat glistening on his brow and his heart was beating very fast. This wasn’t making sense. Surely he was in his parent’s files and records somewhere. They were his parents and he came from them. Surely there would’ve been more documentation than only his birth certificate to show that he was a real human being of his father and mother.

“You must’ve missed something,” Korkie said walking over to the window. “Look through the files again I’m certain that I must be a part of this history somewhere.” He leaned his forehead against the cool glass and looked outside onto the palace grounds and the darkness that hid them. He felt empty, like any substance of himself had withered away suddenly.

Sabra watched as Korkie’s shoulders raised and lowered as he tried to control his breathing. Any emotion, sadness or confusion that Korkie was feeling was being absorbed by Sabra and released into the Force. In exchange, Sabra tried to radiate calming waves over Korkie through the Force to him but it only did so much. She stood up from her seat and walked over to Korkie, placing a hand on his shoulder to offer some comfort.

“Korkie, it’s getting late and you’ve had a long day already,” Sabra said carefully. “Let’s write down everything we discovered tonight, and look again tomorrow. You need some rest to process everything that’s happened.”

Korkie had closed his eyes as he thought. When he opened them, he turned his head over to Sabra with a sad, pleading expression. Why couldn’t they just do it now? They had all the info they needed why couldn’t they just comb through all the information right then and there? He’d just learned that maybe he wasn’t a part of his parent’s story at all. How could she possibly expect him to sleep knowing that he possibly wasn’t the son of Alastor and Prilla Kryze?

Korkie looked over at the timepiece which was about to ring in the midnight hour and sighed. The sound of the little chime made him realize how exhausted he really was from the news they’d discovered. The lack of any documentation placing him in the Clan Kryze timeline was so much to digest. Korkie finally gave in and nodded in agreement.

He gathered up all the data and holopads to one pile of the desk, and ejected the drive from one of his portable computers before returning to the window and leaning on the ledge where Sabra wrapped an arm around his shoulder to try and offer some comfort. Korkie leaned into her arm and tried to relax himself again.

“We’ll pick up right where we left off tomorrow,” he said quietly holding out the drive for them both to see. “But no one can know we…”

Suddenly the door to Korkie’s bedroom was swung open as Áine burst in quickly on the teenagers. Sabra and Korkie quickly separated from each other and straightened themselves out as Áine stepped into the bedroom. Korkie took his hand with the the disk drive and hid it behind his back.

“Oh dear, have I interrupted anything?” Áine asked as the tension in the room suddenly rose. “What are you two doing?”

Korkie and Sabra exchanged looks and blushed at the scene Áine had stumbled into. Korkie cleared his throat.

“Nothing, Áine,” Korkie said, not daring look aside at Sabra. “Sabra and I were just having an evening chat after that dinner.”

Áine folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Any reason as to why you look so stiff? Why do you have your hand behind your back, young Korkie?” she asked.

_Fuck,_ Korkie thought. He couldn’t let Áine see the drive in his hands but she would notice if he were to slip it into his own pocket. As he stumbled to find an excuse, he looked around at his situation. He was just going to have to hope Sabra went along with the scheme.

“No reason, Áine. Just trying to be polite to our guest here,” Korkie quickly wrapped his arm around Sabra’s waist and pulled her close. Sabra stood stunned and confused at what Korkie was trying to do but didn’t dare speak out in case of breaching whatever plan Korkie was coming up with. “The dinner was quite an ordeal so I thought we’d come back here for a moment of quiet.”

Áine smiled and seemed to wipe a bead of sweat from her forehead. “Well isn’t that nice of ye,” she said with a sigh. “Anyway your auntie wanted me to check on you. Apparently there was a break-in to the Duchess’s private library earlier this evening. They’re investigating now.”

Sabra felt Korkie’s Force signature radiate with anxiety. She herself felt her heart beat faster at the sound of this news.

“That’s unfortunate to hear,” Korkie said, trying to sound surprised. “Hopefully nothing to serious was taken.”

Áine shrugged. “Not sure yet. They’re investigating right now,” she said. “But I’m glad to see the two of you are safe in the meantime. Oh! I almost forgot. Padawan Sabra, your Master has requested to speak with you. His transmission is waiting for your acceptance in your quarters. I’ll walk you back.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Sabra said. She started to walk away, throwing a quick, confused glance at Korkie as she exited the room. Korkie nodded and gestured her to keep going, offering a quick wink before Áine closed the door.

***

Satine stood in her private library, carefully scanning the room for anything out of place. Shortly after everyone had parted ways for the night, her guards had alerted her that motion was detected in the cooling system vents near the little office and the sounds of papers falling and hitting the ground had been heard by the guards. No weapons of any kind had been detected,and there were no reports of anyone making unauthorized entry into the palace, but the intruders had stopped in the library to access Satine’s computer system and rifled through files.

As Satine looked around at the holobooks and holofiles on the shelves, she pondered what information someone could possibly need from this little room. Sure there was an abundance of confidential government documents and family papers, but anything that was detrimental to Mandalore was kept in the governor and prime ministers offices under strict lock and key. Most of the papers in this room detailed her families past.

_Both real and forged,_ Satine thought to herself.

The little library had records dating all the way back to Satine’s great-grandparents thrice removed when they first took hold of the throne. Anything from coronations, marriages, births and deaths of Clan Kryze were in this tiny room either in holofiles or digitized in a large, database that only those with access to this room could look at. Before Satine was named Duchess, she had never been allowed into this room.

She remembered the day her father had sat down with her, Alastor and Bo-Katan after the three had tried sneaking in when they were little. He had been firm but sweet, saying that only when each child became of age would they be allowed to see the files of their Clan’s past. Alastor and Satine had respectfully abided, but Bo was a little more rebellious than that. Satine thought fondly of a time when Bo had tried slipping under her father’s robes to enter with him and see him work. It also explained her behavior when the war broke out and she ran to join Death Watch.

Satine pushed the melancholia rising through her thoughts aside. The palace’s chief inspector Viklok walked into the library from the hallway and up to the Duchess.

“The guards are combing the palace from top to bottom. So far, there’s no evidence of anyone breaking into the palace,” he said. “Whoever the perpetrator is already had access to the palace.”

“Have you found anything as to what the intruders were looking for?” Satine asked to the guard and droid scanning through her computer system. The two had been searching through databases for what seemed like forever now with Satine’s guards standing inside watching closely.

“We found the time of entry when the intruders accessed the files,” the guard said typing away on the keyboard. “It was during the dinner with the senators and representatives but it doesn’t look like they were in the system for very long. Which means they knew what they were looking for.”

The guard clicked around some more as Satine contemplated this knowledge and exchanged glances with Viklok.

“And what information did they access?” Viklok asked walking over to the guard.

“Well, I can’t get an exact list of what files were taken,” the guard said. Satine’s heart dropped. Taken? The intruders had taken files? “But the files seem to be regarding birth certificates, health records and other documentation of this nature surrounding Alastor Kryze and his wife.”

Satine felt her heart stop. She hadn’t heard their names spoken in such a long time. Why would anyone want to access records for her late brother and sister-in-law? There wasn’t much anyone could gain from accessing, let alone downloading those records. Her thoughts then drifted to the only one who had asked her about them recently.

_No,_ she thought to herself. Korkie wouldn’t do that. Not to her or her family. But then again…

Satine pushed the thought from her head and waited for the guard to say more before making her assumption.

“Does it say how the files were taken?” Satine asked as she recollected herself.

“It says here that they were copied and downloaded onto some sort of storage device. I can run a few tests and get a specific model that could maybe help track down who stole these files,” the guard said. “Though I think it is also worth noting that there are records here of a second download.”

Satine walked over to the guard and inspector and looked at his screen. Whatever he was looking at was a mess of numbers, colors and figures. Nothing that reciprocated and interpreted in her mind. But where the guard pointed on the screen, he was right. There were in fact two times of entry very close to each other with records of both downloading information.

“The intruders downloaded two copies of information?” Satine asked. The guard shrugged.

“I don’t think so. The two devices that the information was downloaded on are too different for them to be related. This first device is nothing special or experienced. Anyone could carry one of these drives around. But this second one is a government issued drive with an encrypted code that will take a while to track down. The two downloads occurred within the same hour, but if both of these downloads were from the same person, they would’ve downloaded all the files at the same time. It’s possible the two aren’t connected at all.”

“And you’re sure that you didn’t see anything or hear anyone enter this room?” Viklok asked sternly, walking over to the two guards that had suddenly tensed their shoulders at the boom of his voice. “You were the two dumbasses that were supposed to be guarding this room properly!”

“No sir,” the first guard said. “We only got the transmission that activity was detected in this part of the palace. nothing was out of place other than that.”

“As two standing guards, you should’ve been able to detect and stop any intrusion into this palace,” Viklok said. “You are dismissed for the evening.”

Satine took a long deep breath and looked around the library one more time. She bent over to the papers and files that had been knocked over when they first entered the library and began to file through them to make sure they were in order. The files that had been knocked over were intricate details of funds and contracting Mandalore had with the Republic core worlds. There were trade documents that Satine had meant to file away that had all the specifics of the trade that Mandalore and the Republic conducted with each other, like where the imported food came from and how much spending was exchanged between the two.

Satine pondered this for a moment. If anyone was breaking into her personal library, this would be the kind of papers they’d be looking for as a way to sabotage any relations Mandalore had with other worlds. But rather than rifling through to find these documents, the intruder had just knocked them to the floor like they were any type of flimsy notes so that ruled out anyone of the senators or representatives from the Republic or the Separatists.

“Did you find something, milady?” The inspector asked walking over to her. Satine showed him the files that were in her hands.

“These are documents that were meant to be filed detailing trade contracts and expense reports between Mandalore and the Republic,” Satine said placing the documents on the table. “They’re the most valuable sort of flimsiwork in this room. Yet they were just tossed on the floor. Only saboteurs would have aggressively looked for these.”

The inspector pondered this for a moment. “So whoever broke into this library isn’t after money,” he said. “We could be looking at a personal attack against you Duchess.”

Satine thought to the upcoming discussions with the Republic and Separatist governments. She hadn’t wanted to have these discussions if she was being honest with herself. She’d only accepted the proposal for a conference so that she could ensure her system to still get food and other imports through contracts with the two government systems. If someone from the two parties were also trying to access information about her family, she would really have to keep on her watch.

“Continue looking for any information that could lead us to the intruders that copied those files,” Satine said to the guard at the computer. She then turned to the chief inspector. “And keep searching for any possible suspects that would’ve had access to this room and the ways they could’ve entered. But make no mistake chief inspector, I don’t want the intruder to escape.”


	8. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas, everyone! OK but before I go more into notes, WHO ELSE'S MIND IS STILL SHOOK AT THAT MANDALORIAN FINALE???
> 
> Anyway, things are starting to heat up in this story and I hope you're enjoying it so far. A few more characters are being added to this story to really spice things up and I can't wait to hear what you all think! 
> 
> Enjoy and I'll see you all again soon!

Sabra quickly returned to her quarters where she accepted the comm transmission and was greeted by a miniature, holographic image of Master Obi-Wan. It was early on Coruscant and Obi-Wan looked rested energized, with his beard freshly trimmed and his hair still drying from a shower he must’ve just taken.

“Good evening, Padawan,” he said cheerily. “I just wanted to check-in to see how you are enjoying Mandalore.”

Sabra flopped into the chair in front of her Master’s image and sighed. “It’s definitely been excitable,” she said leaning onto the desk. “In my time I’ve met the Duchess’s nephew and I guess you could say we have become friends.”

Sabra watched as Obi-Wan’s facial expression became confused.

“I never realized she had a nephew,” he admitted. “I actually hadn’t remembered her brother and his wife having a baby before they were tragically killed all those years ago.”

Sabra raised an eyebrow. For someone who didn’t really like to talk about Mandalore or the Duchess, he sure did know a lot about her family statuses. Her thought drifted back to him bringing up Alastor and Prilla. Before, she would’ve pushed this aside but after the information she’d learned earlier with Korkie, it felt unnatural to think of them the same way. Or to discuss them at all with her master.

“Yeah,” Sabra finally said, slightly raising her shields ever so carefully so that Obi-Wan wouldn’t notice. “Korkie, Satine’s nephew is actually working on a DNA project of some kind and I’m helping him out. Been learning a lot about Mandalore and Clan Kryze in the process.”

Obi-Wan chuckled and beamed at her. “Ah, that’s my Padawan. Going off on a diplomatic journey and still finding time to do some kind of research. The Clan Kryze survived in Sundari for generations. It’s horrible to think the family tree has dwindled so quickly. But the Duchess is a strong woman.”

Sabra sat back and looked at her master quizzically. He was being very responsive about Clan Kryze and Mandalore. More than he’d ever been even after he’d come back from his mission escorting the Duchess to Coruscant.

“You seem to know a lot about Duchess Satine’s family and Mandalore,” she said, tuning into her Master’s Force signature to get any sign of change in his demeanor. There had been rumors, mostly from Master Skywalker that Obi-Wan and Satine had once carried feelings for each other. Little scandals about a Jedi falling for someone wasn’t unusual, but it was when it regarded her calm, rule-abiding Master. Sabra felt the rippling in the Force again that made her stomach flutter.

“I did spend a year on the run with her during the civil war on Mandalore with Master Qui-Gon,” Obi-Wan said carefully. “You get to know a person when you spend that much time in that kind of situation.”

Sabra pursed her lips and nodded. She’d pushed too hard again and that’s all she was going to get out of him on the matter. “Fair,” she said. “Well I hate to end our comm but I’m rather tired and ready to get out of these robes.”

Obi-Wan chuckled again and crossed his arms. “Which is truly a shame because you look simply dashing and sophisticated,” he said, earning a bashful smile from Sabra. “Alright then, get your rest young one. We’ll talk again soon.”

Sabra ended the transmission after bidding her Master good night (or to have a good day in his case) and proceeded to remove the top layer of her ceremonial robes. As she did, she began to realize they felt slightly heavier for some reason. Sabra held the robes out in her arms and gently shook them, feeling some kind of object adding some mass to the outer layer. Sabra quickly removed the rest of her robes and arranged them on the hanger for the closet. As she placed the hanger on the rack, she began to shuffle through each of the pockets until her fingers brushed up against a small, cool piece of metal.

Curious, she pulled it out and caught her breath. It was Korkie’s disk drive.

***

Obi-Wan watched as the hologram of his Padawan flickered away and he was once again alone in their shared quarters. Outside, the sun had barely started to rise on Coruscant with the space lanes slowly becoming congested with the morning hustle of people on their way to work.

Obi-Wan sighed and gazed out the window. In truth, he knew much more about Satine’s family than he would ever care to admit. That year he and Qui-Gon had spent on Mandalore had given the two teenagers ample time to get to know one another. More time for them to become more than friends. He would never admit it, but the two teenagers had fallen in love with each other, and whether or not Qui-Gon knew, Obi-Wan had developed an attachment that to this day, he would never let go of.

Had it been appropriate, Obi-Wan would’ve loved to have gone with Sabra to Mandalore, even just to escort her and get one glimpse at the Duchess or have one short conversation with her. It hadn’t been very long since they had last been in the presence of each other, almost a year since she defended the Council of Neutral Systems in front of the Republic. Obi-Wan could feel his heart tug at his emotions and regret for not even trying as he remembered when he last sawthe Duchess.

The night before Satine had embarked, Obi-Wan had gone to visit her one last time in her temporary quarters. They had both sat on one of the sofas, quite awkwardly, in silence. Neither one wanted to be the one to start the conversation but also, neither one wanted to be the one to end it either.

They finally broke down their boundaries and engaged in small talk about the last few moments with Qui-Gon before he died and what life on Coruscant and in the Jedi Temple was like. They’d both sipped on some wine that had been sent up to the two which loosened up the tightly-wound Jedi master and the elegant Mandalorian duchess. The pair had gone from sitting with hands folded on opposite sides of the sofa to leaning back against it on the floor, each with a glass in hand and a smile that plastered their faces like nothing had changed.

The pair had gone from the Jedi and the Duchess to two old friends reminiscing of old times and two lovers who had been separated for far too long to easily slip back into he ways of old.

After the timepiece in Satine’s room had chimed midnight, Obi-Wan had stood up to bid good night and farewell. He thought back to how he stood by the door with Satine standing in front of him, both immediately silenced by sadness of not wanting to be apart again. Satine had finally broken the awkwardness by wrapping her arms around Obi-Wan’s waist for one final hug. Obi-Wan froze at first, unsure of when the last time he’d been properly hugged, then relaxed and wrapped his arms around her. He could feel the ripples course through his belly as he held Satine in his arms.

Obi-Wan’s hand closed into a fist as he kicked himself for not offering any more to their farewell like running a finger across her soft cheek or planting a light kiss on her forehead. He remembered Satine’s hand as it rested over his chest as if she didn’t want to let go and the other at the neckline of his hair, remembering everything she could before she left. Obi-Wan remember how he wanted to run his hands through her blonde hair and hold her forever without ever letting go. But instead, Obi-Wan had broken the hug, said his farewells to Satine and left her quarters to return to the Temple.

Obi-Wan opened his eyes and he was back in his and Sabra’s shared quarters. The quarters they shared felt emptier, and more solemn as he watched the sun rise higher over the Coruscanti skyline.

 _Some other time,_ he said to himself as he ran a hand through his sandy blonde locks and left his quarters to begin his day.

***

The crowd was back. Hundreds of people packed together outside on the walkways with no particular place to go and Korkie was right in the middle of it. He couldn’t see over the heads and shoulders of these strangers and no matter how much he pushed through, the crowd only seemed to enclose him even tighter.

Korkie could feel his breath catching as claustrophobia took over his mind. Despite the mass gathering of people, it was silent. Not a sound from the mouths of the strangers or the shoes as their feet stepped on the glass walkway. Only the backs of these people were visible to Korkie. Anytime he tried to get a glimpse of their faces, they only turned their shoulders harder as if they were all walking away from him while trying to trap him at the same time. He then heard a voice, light and airy.

 _Korkie,_ it cried as if trying to flag him down. Korkie looked up amidst the crowd and saw an arm waving back and forth while motioning him to come. _I’m over here._ Korkie couldn’t recognize the voice but that didn’t stop him from running through the crowds of people. _Korkie! We’re over here!_ It was a female voice. _Korkie, your father and I are ready._

“I’m coming!” Korkie cried, nearly pleaded as he tried pushing past the faceless people that were only enclosing tighter on his space until he was quite literally sandwiched by the mass of strangers. “Let me through!” his voice squeaked but the strangers didn’t listen. Now they were practically trying to shove him around. Korkie couldn’t breathe. He was hyperventilating and sweat had formed on his brow. He had nowhere to go.

One of the figures had forcefully bumped into his shoulder, sending Korkie to the ground. “ _Mom!_ ” Korkie screamed, his voice scratching and breaking in fear. “ _Dad! I’m here! I’m here! I’m here!”_ he seemed to cry but no one could hear him. He covered his face with his hands and drew his knees up to his chest. He couldn’t control his fits as tears began to fall down his face.

A hand suddenly met his shoulder, causing him to open his eyes and shoot up out of bed, panting and hyperventilating aggressively as he tried to catch his breath and get a bearing on his surroundings. Someone had awoken him.

“Korkie, it’s alright sweetheart,” a low, gentle voice said. Korkie turned to whoever had pulled him out of his sleep. It was Aunt Satine. He let out a large sigh of relief to see her concerned face. “One of the handmaidens heard you from outside and fetched me immediately. Are you alright?”

He was still in the palace; in his bed with he covers strewn all over the place and the moon casting shadows into his room. Korkie’s breath had controlled as he wiped his forehead and slowly lay back down. He hadn’t had another nightmare about his parents in a while, but this one seemed to only be more intense. Satine was still in her nightclothes, which meant they still had a few hours until it was time to rise. Her hair was down and messy as if she’d shot right out of bed to come and wake Korkie up.

“I’m alright now, Auntie,” he said, putting a hand on hers that rested on his shoulder. “Just another nightmare is all.” Satine didn’t look convinced as Korkie slowly laid back down in bed, much more calm and content.

“Another one?” she asked. “How long have they been happening.”

“A few weeks now,” Korkie said reassuringly. “It’s nothing to worry about Auntie, I’m fine.”

“Alright, I suppose,” Satine said planting a kiss on his forehead before looking around at his room before her. “Working on a project I see,” she said eyeing the stacks and stacks of files on the table. Korkie swallowed quietly, realizing there were still some papers he hadn’t hidden away.

“Uh, yeah,” he said carefully. “Just a school project, nothing exciting.”

Satine smiled as she looked back at her nephew. “Anything I can know?” she asked. The hopefulness in her eyes was hurting Korkie, but he knew he couldn’t tell her in fear that it would trigger her memories of the Mandalorian Civil War again. She could compromise his search just as it was getting started.

“Ah no,” he said dismissively. “Just a boring project. Nothing special.” Korkie yawned. “I’m OK now Auntie. See you in the morning.”

Satine sighed as Korkie pulled the covers back over his shoulder and turned away from her. She patted Korkie’s shoulder gently before rising from the bed and walking toward the door. _At least he’s safe,_ she said feeling somewhat relieved as she gently closed the door to let her nephew go back to sleep.

Korkie was still awake however. He was mulling over his nightmare. His search for who he really was had just begun and he was determined to figure out what was going on.

***

“With your partnership, Duchess, you would have full protection from the Separatists and access to all of our key hyperspace lanes to increase trade relations with the other worlds,” Senator Griehm said from his chair. “I understand that the Republic and the Mandalore have had relations for years but the Republic’s hold on the Outer Rim is appearing to slowly dwindle which could cause issues with supply routes in the future.”

The conference and meetings continued as scheduled the next day despite the break-in of the information. There were only a few handfuls of meetings that were planned to happen and each of them were to discuss the success of Mandalore, as well as a few other neutral systems, should it choose to continue being neutral through the war.

The first meeting the next morning and both sides were trying to sway the Duchess to join relations with either and break Mandalore’s neutral stance. Satine had made very clear that she wasn’t interested in joining either side of the war. But nearly once or twice a revolution, there was always this discussion between the three sides that tried to sway Satine’s opinion, and every time, both sides failed.

“The Separatists promise safety and security to the people of Mandalore, yet they can hardly provide this safety and security to its own people,” Senator Organa said standing up. “When the Separatists try and take a planet, they come in guns a-blazing, killing anyone and anything in its path that could prevent them from taking over a world. With the Republic protection, any further violence could be avoided.”

Sabra stood behind Senator Organa’s chair observing as the two sides quarreled back and forth on whose side was better. This meeting had only been going on for about 30 minutes, but Sabra could tell this was going to go on forever.

In her comm-chat with Obi-Wan while on their way to Mandalore, she had discussed the day’s agenda with him, only to receive a laugh from her master.

“I think you’ll find that the more you hear people try to persuade the Duchess one way or another, it will be greeted with impending failure,” he had said. “The Duchess is a very stubborn woman who is hard to convince.”

Sabra had smirked at that. She knew that Satine carried a persona of steel. Nothing penetrated her when it came to making a decision. Whatever she said was what they went with and no one could tell her otherwise.

“It seems like you know more about the Duchess than these politicians are trying to claim they know,” Sabra had said into the commlink. The transmission went silent for a moment, only to then produce Obi-Wan’s nervous laugh as a response.

“I knew her for a long time, Padawan mine,” he said before their conversation ended.

Sabra focused back on reality and tuned in to the Force as the two sides quarreled. Senator Organa was firm and passionate. He held his stance and wouldn’t let the arguments Senator Griehm made against him affect the way he talked about the Republic. Senator Griehm was very similar, but something was off about him from when Sabra first met him the night before. He was also passionate but seemed to have less of a firm grasp on his stance than Senator Organa did. Sabra tried to push it off as her not knowing Griehm very well but there was something different about him.

He was fiery, yet calm. He was ecstatic while also neutral in his demeanor. While Senator Organa was ready to shoot down any remark made about the Republic, Griehm seemed to enjoy the daggers that Organa was shooting at him.

 _Definitely a politician,_ Sabra thought to herself. She then focused on Satine’s Force signature. It was unclear as to whether or not Satine was amused or bored. She held herself like that of a painting, her head held high and her eyes focused intensely on the conversation happening in front of her. No matter what though, Satine hadn’t appeared to budge or favor either side of the conversation.

“With all due respect, Senator Organa,” Satine finally said. “You make claims that the Separatists only strive to take over worlds with weapons. But should Mandalore side with the Republic, what’s to say they won’t do the same thing with their soldiers roaming our streets armed with weapons?”

“Unlike my counterpart here, the Republic has an army of _men,_ ” Senator Organa said. “Men with feelings and emotion. Not some programmed droid ordered to kill anything in sight.”

“Now hold on a moment,” Griehm said. “You speak of your ‘clone troopers’ as if they are human when in fact they are just dispensable soldiers your Republic tosses into conflict in hopes that their deaths make it better. A droid army is in fact much more sustainable without risking human life.”

“Enough!” Satine demanded, her fist slamming on the arm of her throne and grabbing everyone’s attention. “When I agreed to having these discussions, I made it clear that demeaning remarks about either side would not be tolerated in this system. You will make your points and you will do so with civility.”

The two senators took a deep breath and bowed to the Duchess as she held up her hands.

“Before we continue with these discussions, I must point out that there was an intrusion last night during our dinner,” she said standing up. “I am not saying that you all are suspects, but I urge you to keep an eye out on your surroundings and your personnel while we investigate. Any intrusions or unauthorized passages will be filed with the palace security. If you have any information regarding this intrusion, I urge you to report it to me.”

Sabra felt her blood freeze. She knew the guards would alert Satine about a disturbance but now she only had to hope that this wouldn’t only lead back to her. One Jedi, her master, had already stirred up trouble with Mandalore. She didn’t need herself to be added to that list.

Satine quickly turned the conversation back to the discussions as Sabra continued listening to the debate at hand before feeling a prick in the Force. She turned her attention over to one of the side entrances, where she saw Korkie stick his head out and motion for her to come over.

Sabra walked to the door, gently closing it behind her and turned to face Korkie, who was in his Academy uniform with his knapsack in hand.

“Heading back, are you?” she asked as he adjusted the strap on his shoulder.

“I am, but not for classes,” he said, receiving a confusing look from Sabra. “I can’t just return to my studies after what I’ve learned these past few days. I have to look into this.”

Sabra sighed and looked around to make sure no one was around to listen. “You’re not suggesting going back to that library are you?” she hissed. “You aunt already knows someone broke into her library. I don’t need that tracing back to you or me.”

Korkie looked taken aback by Sabra’s tone, but quickly changed his demeanor when he pulled out a file.

“I’ll take full responsibility if they find out it was us,” he said. “But I found the information for the Clan’s private doctor that has worked with my family since before the Mandalorian Civil War. He’s the one behind all of the medical records and documents in those files. Maybe he knows something about my background.”

“You aren’t thinking of going to see him are you?” Sabra asked. “How are you going to explain where you got these files?”

Korkie shrugged. “I don’t know I’ll come up with something. But if I just talk to him maybe he can give me a lead on why my birth dates don’t match up and whether or not my mother’s paperwork is filed correctly.”

“I don’t know,” Sabra said. “I think if you aren’t careful, it could land you and possibly your aunt in very serious trouble.”

Korkie gave Sabra a puzzled look that was on the brink of annoyed. “You aren’t suddenly discounting me too, are you?” he asked. “Sabra, I just discovered that my files are misleading, inaccurate and undefined this weekend. You think I’m just going to drop whatever I’ve found? Or that I snuck into my aunts personal library for fun?”

Sabra shushed him quickly and led him over to the window and away from the door.

“Of course I don’t want you to discount what we’ve discovered,” she said quietly. “But I also don’t want you rousing up the grutchins nest if you don’t have to. I’ve seen how family secrets and wrong information can tear a family apart and I don’t want to see that happen to yours.”

“But that’s the thing! There is no one left in my family!” Korkie said back. “It’s me and Aunt Satine. That’s all I’ve got. I don’t even have a background or identity to fondly look back on and my aunt won’t tell me anything about my parents because it brings up too much trauma from the civil war. If I’m going to find anything out about where I come from, it has to be through these files.”

Korkie’s eyes were practically pleading for Sabra to understand where he was coming from. The way he was clutching the file with the doctor’s information and the tone of his voice showed that he was not giving up. Sabra sighed, trying to reach into the Force for guidance but nothing was coming back to her.

“How can I help?” she said finally. Korkie’s pleading face suddenly became determined as he opened the file and pulled out a piece of flimsy.

“I need you to escort me to this address. Aunt Satine won’t let me go alone but if the guards see that I’m taking you with me, they’ll loan us a speeder unaccompanied. I’ll just say that you’re escorting me back to school,” Korkie said.

“And what happens when the school finds out that you aren’t actually there?” Sabra asked studying the address.

“I already told my teachers I wasn’t feeling well and wouldn’t be attending today,” he said. “Besides we are only prepping for a few tests. Stuff I already know. It’s not a big deal.”

Sabra handed Korkie back the flimsy and turned to the door of the throne room. “I should tell Senator Organa that I’m leaving first,” she started to say but Korkie stopped her.

“The guards will let him know that you’ve escorted me back,” he said. “Let’s go.”

“You’ve really thought a lot of this through,” Sabra said as she followed Korkie quickly to the speeder hangar.”

Korkie chuckled.

“I guess you can just say I’m more motivated or determined than logical.”

***

The doctor that was hired by the royal Clan wasn’t far from Korkie’s academy. The office he operated in was tucked in a small, elegant building with square windows placed carefully and artistically all over the building. There wasn’t much security present from what Sabra could tell, but from the path she followed Korkie on to get to it, only people who knew the office was there would really be able to access it.

Upon entering the small establishment, there wasn’t much inside that dictated the two teenagers were in a doctor’s office other than a sign that said “Dr. Hira Loff.” There wasn’t a traditional type of waiting room like any other medical center had and instead of the hustle and bustle of a hospital front desk, there was only one small table where a middle-aged woman sat quietly sorting through holopads and files that were printed on flimsy.

 _Not very secure for a royal doctor,_ Sabra said to herself, reading through the Force as Korkie walked up to the woman at the small desk.

“Oh, Master Korkie!” the woman cried before Korkie could even open his mouth. “It isn’t often that one of our lovely patients comes and visits us in the office.” Despite the drab appearance of the woman’s clothes, she had an extravagant style to her pastel blonde hair with her eyes magnified behind a set of glasses. Her Force signature radiated surprise and nervousness, signaling to Sabra that they probably never got any visitors at all.

“Hello, Liira,” Korkie said with a small smile. “I’ve just popped in to see if maybe I could speak with Dr. Loff.”

“Of course he’s in, he’s always in!” Liira said pushing aside her work to pull out an untouched holopad where she began to type away. “What’s the reasoning? Not feeling sick I hope?”

Korkie shook his head as he pulled one of the holopads out of his knapsack and gestured at it to Liira.

“No nothing wrong,” he said. “I’ve just come across some of my own files and wanted to ask him to help me interpret them. For a school project.”

Liira’s guard immediately shot up at the mention of Korkie’s own files. Her sweet smile had immediately turned into a rigid frown as her eyes shot toward Sabra.

“Friend from school?” she asked, her cheery voice sounding harsh. Sabra felt the shift in the Force immediately, nearly startling her. Suddenly it felt closed off, like the two shouldn’t be there at all. But Sabra straightened out and played along carefully.

“Classmate,” she said. “I came with for emotional support.”

Liira looked back at Korkie, not fully satisfied with Sabra’s answer but let some of her guard back down. “Dr. Loff would be happy to answer any of your questions,” she said, sounding slightly weak. She was suddenly nervous, holding something back like the words were on the tip of her tongue. “He’s just in back in his office. But the girl stays up here with me.”

Korkie and Sabra exchanged a look before Sabra nodded.

“I’ll wait up here,” she said putting a hand on Korkie’s shoulder.

Korkie smiled back at her before turning back to Liira, who pressed a button that triggered a door disguised within the wall to open, revealing a descending staircase to a room below. Korkie slowly descended the stairs until he entered a larger hallway space with examination rooms on each side and the Doctor’s office straight ahead. The doctor’s office was neat and organized with a a large desk in the middle and a handful of chairs surrounding it. To the right was a large glass panel that revealed a large file room that glowed from the lights of the holobooks. There were many droids roaming the aisles and aisles of the shelves, pulling out files, putting some back and scanning any information that deemed necessary.

All of the Clan’s medical records from the first texts of Clan Kryze’s beginnings were stored in this late room. The little library at the palace was merely a child’s dictionary compared to the amount of information stored by the royal doctor. Surely if Satine’s records were missing files, they could be found here.

Korkie had visited Dr. Loff’s office a number of times but for some reason the examination room and office felt colder and less welcoming than the other times he’d been to the office. He began to feel nervous, his hands beginning to sweat and his heart beginning to beat faster. He thought back to the previous night of what they had discovered and a lump began to form in his throat. It would be so easy to just turn back and leave; forget the whole thing and pretend it never happened.

Dr. Loff interrupted Korkie’s thoughts as he walked out from the large records room. The doctor was tall and slender, with sharp facial features and graying hair that was slicked back. His eyes widened with surprise when he lifted his focusers from his nose and saw Korkie standing at his desk, bag on his shoulder and his hands folded tightly in front of him.

“Master Korkie,” he said in a low but gentle voice.

“Good morning, Dr. Loff,” Korkie said. “I’m sorry to come unannounced.”

The doctor’s mouth formed into a small smile as he shook it off. “Nonsense, you are always welcome here,” he said. “Are you feeling ill?”

“No sir,” Korkie said, fingers fidgeting with the hem of his tunic. “I actually was hoping you could help me. I have some questions on a school project I’m working on and thought you might be able to help me.”

Dr. Loff gestured for Korkie to take a seat as he took his place at his desk chair. “I’d be happy to help,” he said. “What questions do you have?”

Korkie pulled out one of the holopads and powered it up. “You see, my teacher has assigned us to look into our pasts and where we come from. She’s even had us do blood tests to see our genetic make-up,” Korkie said. “And it appears that mine could be wrong.”

Dr. Loff raised an eyebrow. “My records are filed with precision and accuracy. They have been so ever since the Clan brought on private medical care. I could hardly think something as transparent as a blood test could be wrong,” he said. “What makes you think they could be wrong?”

Korkie passed Dr. Loff his blood test results from the school as the doctor lowered his focuser’s onto his nose to look them over. “Because it says here that I’m only part Clan Kryze, Mandalorian,” he said. “It says I’m also part Stewjoni but that doesn’t quite fit with my parents genetics.”

Dr. Loff studied the results carefully as Korkie continued.

“Curious,” he said. “Well how about this, why don’t you take another one and I’ll show you there is nothing out of place.” He went to his desk drawer where he pulled out a small pen-like object. The pen pricked Korkie’s held out finger and extracted a small dabbling of blood that Dr. Loff put into his own DNA reading machine. Surely, his machine was more intricate than the ones used at the Academy.

The machine was beeping and clicking while it analyzed Korkie’s blood, filing through databases upon databases of people and information before spitting out a piece of flimsiplast loaded with more information than the Academy had presented Korkie with the first time. Dr. Loff took the flimsy and examined it carefully, stroking his long chin in the process.

“Ah there, you see?” he said handing the flimsy over to Korkie. “Must’ve been a mistake. All the information here is correct.” Korkie looked over the flimsy carefully. It was formatted the exact same way as the one from the Academy, but there was different information on it this time. Clan Kryze was displayed on this chart again, but at a lower percentage than the flimsy provided by the academy. Rather than Stewjoni on the other part of his DNA, Clan Elder had taken its place. Korkie continued scanning over the flimsy, comparing it with the one provided by the Academy. As he suspected, the birth dates were different once again.

“You’ll also probably notice that my birth date is inconsistent,” he said. “In the test from the Academy, I’m given one date, yet in the test I just took, the date is 11 months after. Why aren’t they the same?”

Dr. Loff pondered this for a moment, stroking his chin. His eyes almost seemed to be glossy as they skimmed from left to right the two charts. He was quiet for a very long time as he looked them over, long enough to make Korkie fold his hands between his legs in anxiousness.

“I remember the day you were born,” Dr. Loff said quietly. “Your mother was truly a soldier, trying to keep calm and composed while she was enduring the most excruciating pain she could ever feel. Your father a nervous wreck as ever. Nearly fainted a few times. But then you finally arrived and all of the pain and fear practically vanished.”

Dr. Loff’s eyes had softened now as he was gazing over the records, but he didn’t seem to notice Korkie’s brow was furrowing. It was like talking to his Aunt all over again with the dodging of questions and reminiscence of unimportant information.

“Funny you say that,” Korkie said. “Because according to records that _you_ have produced, my mother never gave birth. In fact, she miscarried right before she died. Which would mean that Prilla Kryze was not my mother and something is wrong with my records.”

The doctor’s face immediately stiffened. His breath, while still steady, was beginning to pick up pace and his heart was beginning to beat faster. His long bony fingers that were holding one of the flimsy’s suddenly seemed to shake slightly as his free hand cupped his chin to ponder this sentence. Unknowingly, he had treaded right onto thin ice. He had answers but they wouldn’t be satisfying no matter how they were delivered.

Dr. Loff slowly lifted his focusers from his nose and onto his forehead.

“I’m not merely suggesting anything,” he said, trying to keep his cool. “In regards to your birth date, it is the same as you’ve always been told. These other date here must merely be a glitch in the system.”

“I thought you said your records were completely accurate,” he said, trying a new approach. Dr. Loff was getting more and more trapped.

“Does your aunt know you are here, Korkie?” he said in a low, gruff voice that sent chills down Korkie’s spine. Suddenly, Korkie felt very small and very intrusive but he wasn’t about to back down.

“No sir,” he replied, unsure of where this conversation was going. The doctor was very quiet and growing very pale but Korkie refused to back down. This was going somewhere, he could feel it. He had to keep pushing. “Doctor: Is it possible to tamper with records?”

“ _Never!”_ he said harshly before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

Dr. Loff lowered the flimsies onto the table and handed them back to Korkie before rubbing his eyes and taking another deep breath in and out. Korkie nervously took back the holopad and studied the doctor’s actions carefully. He’d never seen Dr. Loff look this disheveled. For a man that had a very stern composition, it was unsettling to see how shaken up he really was.

“I knew this time would come,” he said weakly, peaking Korkie’s ears and interests. “You are right about one thing thought: Alastor and Prilla Kryze are not your real parents. They never were. But I was there when you were born. I delivered you.”

Korkie’s chest was heavy, as if a huge block of beskar had been lunged at his heart to catch him off guard. He could feel the sweat gathering on his brow as anxiety slowly flooded his mind. Deep in his gut, he felt like he’d already known that his parents weren’t who it was documented they were. But something about hearing a confirmation just made it worse.

The room began to feel too big for Korkie’s liking as he squirmed in his chair trying to contain himself.

“Then who are my real parents?” he asked, his shoulders shaking as he held himself together but received no response from the doctor. Korkie balled his hand into fists. “Dr. Loff! Why are my records falsified? Who tampered with them and why is everyone so secretive about it? Where the fuck do I come from?!”

The doctor hadn’t moved a muscle while Korkie was trembling like scared Loth cat. Finally, Dr. Loff looked Korkie dead in the eyes before writing down the number “7938” on a piece of flimsy paper. Korkie held the small piece of flimsy in his hand, staring at the number while it shook in his hand.

“Research again,” he said quietly. “But do not limit your research to Alastor and Prilla. Search through Clan Kryze. I cannot say anymore,” Dr. Loff’s face was nearly as white as the piece of flimsy in Korkie’s hand. He was turning his face away as if he were to hide in shame. “Korkie, I must respectfully ask that you leave my office and drop this matter entirely. You are walking into a tangled mess that has no need to be organized.”

Korkie didn’t know what to say. His chest was heaving and his bones felt like jelly. Weakly, Korkie gathered all of his belongings and slowly walked away from the Doctor and back up to the main entrance of his practice feeling more confused than ever.

***

Sabra had been waiting outside on the ledge of a planter box, fiddling with the leaves on one of the perfectly cubed bushes. Korkie walked over to her slowly, tears welling in his eyes as his mind raced over the information that had been presented with him. He stared at the piece of paper and second DNA test in his hand as he approached her. His feet were heavy as if they were welded with durasteel blocks yet he felt empty inside as if he had not substance anymore. Sabra instantly picked up on Korkie’s emotional confusion as he flopped down on the planter box beside her. The Force was sad and empty, as if any warmth had been replaced by confusion and despair.

Korkie was pale-faced yet flushed at the same time. His eyes had traces of redness as if he were about to cry and his shoulders were so slumped he could’ve easily been mistaken for a rag doll.

“What happened?” Sabra asked gently.

“You were right,” he said quietly. “They aren’t my parents.” Sabra studied Korkie carefully at this statement. When they first started this research, which really wasn’t that long ago, she didn’t want her guess to be correct. Now that it was, she felt guilty for even bringing it up in the first place. “Dr. Loff did a second DNA test and confirmed that Alastor and Prilla are not my real parents but he wouldn’t give me a clear answer as to who my parents really are.”

Korkie buried his face in his hands and signed. “Fuck, why can’t I just find an exact answer as to where I come from?” he said into his hands. “I feel like the more we look into this, the farther away from the truth we get.”

“Did the doctor say anything else? Did he give you any other information?” Sabra asked. “He must’ve said _something_ that could be of some use.” Korkie handed Sabra the paperwork he’d walked out with and looked up at the color-changing screens of the dome that enclosed the city. He’d never felt so small like this before. He didn’t even feel like a human anymore much less a Kryze, if he even was a Kryze.

“Just another test and this random number but I’m not sure what it means,” he said. “It could be a number or a code or a password but I don’t know.”

Korkie sighed frustratedly again and walked over to a glass overpass that looked over parts of the city as Sabra studied the flimsy. From this balcony, Korkie could see the square where Sundari citizens hustled and bustled near a memorial fountain. Air traffic and speeders were tightly packed as they sped from all ends of the city to get to their destination. In the distance, he could see the entrance to the palace which was feeling less familiar to him now. It looked strange and unwelcoming to him almost, as if any moment it would cast his things out and tell him to be lost or accept this false reality. Korkie was still processing the information and not only that, he now had another piece of his puzzle that seemed just out of reach.

Sabra stood and joined Korkie on the balcony space, reading through the Force on what Korkie was feeling. She put her hand on his shoulder again and sent calming waves to him through the Force which he warmly accepted.

“We’re going to figure this out,” she said calmly. “You come from somewhere and we’re going to find out where. Everything will be OK.”

Korkie shook his head slowly. “How do you know that?” he said. “You don’t understand what it’s like to be told that the people whom you thought were your parents actually aren’t and part of your life is a lie.” Sabra hesitated, slightly shocked at Korkie’s statement to her.

“Actually I do,” Sabra said, which made Korkie look at her in surprise. “A common misconception about the Jedi is that we were all stolen from our families when we were infants; ripped from our parents arms to be trained as soldiers and fight for a war that seems to have no end. I’m sure Mandalorians see it that way. But many of us didn’t have families to be taken from in the first place.”

Korkie looked quizzically over at Sabra who was now looking out in the distance at the bustling of Sundari before them. Korkie really didn’t know much about the Jedi other than the fact that they were sworn enemies of the Mandalore. The schools were always hesitant in discussion of the Jedi and kept any information about them at a minimum.

“Where do you come from then, Sabra?” Korkie asked.

“I’m not sure,” she replied, holding out her forearm and rolling up her sleeve which revealed a small, permanent scar about the size of a meiloorun seed. It was the remnants of a slave tracking chip. “The creche masters said I was found in a fruit box on Rhen Var at the sight of an abandoned slave camp. So if I do have a family, they most likely were, or still are, slaves. The master who found me said it looked like whoever took care of me was trying to save me. They found me through the Force and brought me back to the Temple where I was trained in the ways of the Jedi.”

Korkie stared out at the Sundari cityscape with Sabra and contemplated her story. His friends back at the Academy all came from loving families where very member was alive and well. There were some things they couldn’t relate to, like coming from royalty or only knowing who one person in your family was. Well, two but Aunt Bo didn’t really count. Korkie had only assumed that Sabra probably came from a loving family as well. Somehow.

“Would that make the Jedi your family then?” he asked. Sabra tilted her head in thought before letting out a curious hmph.

“I suppose they are in a sense,” she said. “My master and I have known each other since I first came to the Temple. And now that I’m his Padawan learner, he’s like a father figure in a way.”

Korkie’s mind still was concentrating around Sabra’s story. A new thought was occurring to him. The Death Watch had killed his parents, or the people who he thought were his parents. Was it possible that they were trying to kill him too? Korkie was told that he was found amongst the rubble and destruction of Alastor and Prilla’s home. With the news about his parents not actually being his parents, he wasn’t sure how true that factor was but that made his theory still plausible.

“What if something similar goes for me?” he asked, breaking the peaceful silence that had settled over the two. Sabra glanced at him confused. “What if whoever my parents are weren’t trying to give me up or forget about me. What if they were trying to protect me?”

The Force surrounding them began to stir with energy and anticipation. Sabra mulled over this theory carefully.

“If it’s true, that would explain why your real records are so difficult to obtain or why some of them are not consistent,” she said. “It’s worth a shot. What else did Dr. Loff tell you while in his office?”

Korkie looked at the piece of flimsy again in his hands with the number written down. “All he said was this would have the answer, and to look into the rest of my Clan as well. And I’m thinking there’s a clue in this new DNA test that might be able to help us.”

Sabra was looking at the number and the test results again, trying to figure out what kind of number it could be. Either a passcode or a file number, neither were sure.

“Do any of these numbers have any significance to you?” Sabra asked. “Like maybe an address or a certification of some kind?” Korkie studied the number closer before realizing it didn’t have to be that complex.

“What if rather than that it’s a date? Or a year?” Korkie asked. If we’re going off of the Hosnian Reckoning calendar, this is around the end of the Mandalorian Civil War.” Sabra and Korkie then looked at the new DNA test and compared it to the original one from the Academy, converting the dates from the Lothal calendar to the Hosnian Reckoning calendar dates until they were presented with a new timeline.

“OK, so the first date you received, the one 11 months from your birthday, is around the beginning of the Mandalorian Civil War,” Sabra said, jotting down the information on the holopad. “That would make your real birthday, presented on this new DNA test, shortly after the war had ended and when your aunt had returned to the thrown. So the date of the execution is technically after you were supposed to have been born.”

Korkie ran his fingers through his hair. Things were starting to clear up while only getting foggier at the same time.

“I wonder if this birthday dictated on my Academy DNA test was Prilla Kryze’s due date,” Korkie said, feeling squeamish about referring to Prilla by her first name rather than mother. “Let’s head back to the palace and check over the records again. Maybe we missed something and now that we have these converted dates, we should be able to pinpoint more answers.”

***

The discussions had been continuous throughout the day and it seemed like no progress was being made, according to the Separatist and Republic senators. Satine was growing tired of hearing the same disputes and options over and over again. Each side continued to promise safety, supplies and security to Mandalore should they join in an alliance, but what was completely bypassed was the discussion of occupation of troops.

Satine had been very clear that occupation was not necessary for either side but Senator Griehm and Senator Organa continued to push despite this. Currently, the two sides were debating about food and clothing imports, bragging about each sides superiority in the industry and how it could benefit Mandalore. Satine had quickly lost interest in hearing any more but she figured she would let the two sides argue a little more before dinner. It was only when Áine approached her and whispered that she had an urgent matter to discuss with Satine.

“I have heard enough,” Satine said finally as the clock rang in an evening hour. “Both sides have presented the Council of Neutral Systems much to discuss in this day of negotiations. We will retire for the evening and then tomorrow the Council will let you know of our decision.”

Satine motioned for Áine to follow her out of the thrown room and into a private office with her guards. “What is it Áine,” she asked sitting down in her chair and offering the aging woman a warm smile.

“I may have found something in regards to who was looking for those files,” she said before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small disk drive. Satine sat up in her chair as she looked at the device in Áine’s hands. “I found it inside the Jedi Padawan’s robes in her room. I know it’s not polite to rummage through our guests things but I thought I could wash some of her robes before her and the other Senators left.”

Áine handed Satine the disk, who studied it carefully in her hands. “Call for the inspector immediately,” Satine said holding the device in her hands. “And I’d like a word with Senator Organa as well.”

***

It had already grown dark on the Mandalorian moon of Concordia, with the only light being generated by the generators and large lamps around the Death Watch head base.

Pre Vizla was sitting in his office, rummaging through files and records that Senator Griehm had sent over to him. They were not complete like he liked, but they were very telling and much more detailed than what he currently had access to anymore. Death Watch had finally completed rebuilding their armor factories and systems in their new hideout on Concordia were up and running. Finally. After the discovery by Duchess Satine and the Master Jedi, Vizla was worried the Death Watch would once again be silenced, killed off once again by the Mandalorian Clan’s and the religion to become nothing. If anything it definitely had set them back a bit in gathering up their ranks.

But that hadn’t happened. The failure of successfully killing Duchess Satine had been a huge loss for their ranks, but that hadn’t stopped Death Watch from continuing to grow their ranks and recruit more people to their cause.

Mandalore was too peaceful again, less passionate than it once had before.

And that needed to change once again.

Vizla heard his office door open with armored boots stepping inside.

“You wanted to see me,” a female voice underneath a dark helmet. It was Lt. Bo-Katan Kryze, the younger sister to Duchess Satine. Despite her young age, Kryze had proven herself worthy many times on end and her knowledge of the Royal Palace and family was one of the reasons Death Watch was able to continue success in their attempts at restoring the old ways of Mandalore.

“Come in, Lieutenant,” Vizla said motioning for her to come stand by him at his desk. Bo-Katan removed her bonnet and rounded the edge of the desk where she saw the records that were displayed on the screen. They were all about her nephew Korkie, from his birth to the present.

“Where did you get these records?” she asked as she scanned over her nephew’s paperwork. Vizla responded with a low chuckle.

“Our men on the inside were able to obtain these records, but it appears we aren’t the only ones interested in your family’s history,” Vizla said. “These records were already pulled up when our men got a hold of where they were stored and there is quite some telling information that we should clear up.”

Bo pulled up a chair and sat down. She really didn’t know much about her nephew. She didn’t even know he existed until a few years ago after an undercover mission to stake out the palace and the Master Jedi that had come to Satine’s aid. After Bo had left Clan Kryze to become one with Death Watch, her connection to her family was immediately cut off. She took off immediately after her parents were executed and ran to Death Watch to join their ranks and she never looked back. Any information she had on her family came from the news, including the announcement that their brother Alastor and his wife Prilla had been killed.

“I’ll do my best,” Bo said with a sigh. “But my information on the royal family after the end of the civil war is quite limited. I’ll do my best.”

“Tell me about this Korkie lad,” Vizla said, pulling up his file and clicking through the minimal amount of information they had. “Where does he fit in to the royal family?”

“He’s the niece of the Duchess,” Bo said. “He was born shortly before the execution of Alastor and Prilla Kryze and was found in the rubble of their home. That’s all I know.”

Vizla smirked before clicking in on a few more files. “Curious,” he said stroking his chin. “Because it appears that the young boy was born _after_ they were both executed.”

Bo looked up at Vizla confused. She was positive that Korkie was Alastor’s. She remember when the two had announced their pregnancy and how happy their mother and father were to finally be getting a grandson. As far as she knew, Prilla had given birth, but then again that was after she had joined Death Watch and Satine had fled. The last she’d heard about Alastor and Prilla was that they had been killed in a raid.

Bo squeezed her eyes shut as she remembered the holoimages of their home. Smoke billowing out of the shattered windows as little fires were burning the insides to destruction. She quickly pulled out of that thought.

“Why do you say that?” she asked, taking hand at the computer to look through the files. “These records have been carefully filed and stored for thousands of years, untouched. The information is never wrong.”

Vizla let out a low, sinister chuckle as Bo looked through the stolen records until she realized that he was right. These records had been tampered with.

“Sounds like sister dearest has kept more secrets from you than you realize,” Vizla said putting a hand on Bo’s shoulder. “And without realizing it, she has given us all the ammo we need to successfully take her thrown and restore the traditional, passionate ways of Mandalore.”

Bo’s mind was spinning over who could have tampered with these records. It had to have been done by someone on the inside. Someone who had complete access to every record of the Clan there was. Someone who knew the Clan inside and out. Someone, and Bo was beginning to know who, would have a reason to tamper with family records.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a happy holidays everyone and please stay safe. I'll be back again soon with another chapter where we see where the hell all of this is going.
> 
> I love you all and let me know what you think! I love reading everyone's comments!


	9. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This update is so long overdue but it's finally here! Man when I tell y'all spring semester of Zoom University is crazy, I mean it's truly crazy so thank you to everyone who has stuck around this long.
> 
> Anyway I'll see you at the end of the chapter!

“What is your plan?” Bo-Katan asked sitting back in her chair. “You wouldn’t have sent our men to act as guards in the Duchess’s palace without a plan. I still don’t understand how these records are any use to us either. It’s not like they hold government secrets.”

Vizla spun around his chair to face her, studying her face carefully as he stroked his chin.

“These records show evidence of tampering, which means someone is trying to hide something,” he explained. “Whatever it is the Duchess is trying to hide is perfect blackmail for the next phase of our plan.”

Bo crossed her arms confused, still not understanding where Vizla was going with his explanation. “So you plan to start a scandalous rumor that the Duchess is tampering with her nephew’s records? That’ll get you as far as Mandalore’s orbit and front page of the tabloids.”

Vizla shook his head as he stood up and walked toward the window. “Not just a scandalous rumor,” Vizla said. “Clan Kryze is well-known for its precision in record keeping. Their organization and security with their most private records is most notable among the family houses and the clans. To imply that someone as royal as young Korkie Kryze has been living with forged documents, the people will lose trust in the administration and rebel, paving way for us to slip in, and take out the Duchess. And as an added bonus, if we move fast enough, a highly acclaimed Republic senator would be caught in the firefight as well. The Republic would come to save the senator and the Duchess would be painted as a traitor.

“And if that isn’t enough to convince you, it may please you to know that with the capture and imprisonment of Almec, they’re focused more on corruption elsewhere. They won’t see this coming.”

Bo sighed and stared out the window. Vizla was correct. If she knew her sister at all, she’d be trying to handle one thing at a time and the playing of this wild card would throw her off completely. But it had been years since Bo-Katan had faced her sister, and wanted to keep it that way as long as possible. The new armor, haircut and lifestyle was something Satine could only predict involved her sister and Bo-Katan wasn’t sure if she was ready to bring up the past.

“Alright,” she said standing up. “What now?”

Vizla let a smile spread across his face.

“I was able to get two of our guards into the palace by accompanying Senator Griehm to the conferences. While the Senator has been busy in the conferences and useless discussions, our guards on the inside were able to access information about the palace,” he said as he typed a few things on his computer.

“The Duchess has halted conferences for now because apparently, the young Korkie has also decided to do some snooping around the palace. Suit up and tell the men to prepare to move out. I’ll explain the rest of my plan on the way to Sundari.”

***

Sabra and Korkie were walking back to the palace, new information and leads fresh in their mind. They were really getting somewhere. This wild goose chase wasn't a wild chase at all and now Korkie had new places to look for answers. His mind was racing, but with excitement and curiosity. The answers were probably staring at him right in the face, he just had to look hard enough. His thoughts were interrupted when his comm link activated with a transmission from Satine. He pulled out his holotransmitter and projected a scaled image of his aunt, who looked very cross and concerned.

“Korkie, where are you?” she asked with a hint of demand in her voice.

“Just in town, Auntie,” Korkie said quickly. “I didn’t want to be a burden on you and the other senators while you were discussing neutrality.”

“Is Padawan Eiben with you?” Satine asked, slowly crossing her arms and leaning on one hip. “I need you both back at the palace. We need to have a talk.”

Before Korkie could respond or object, the transmission ended and Satine disappeared. Korkie froze, nerves trickling up his back and arms. Sabra could sense the tension and confusion, both from Korkie and through Satine projecting through the holotransmission. They had been found out, they must have been.

“What do we do?” Korkie asked, clipping the transmitter back to his belt. “They’re going to confiscate everything we have and all that we’ve learned will be a lost cause!”

Sabra quickly thought of other alternatives. She was still new to Mandalore and only knew about the palace as a place to go. Anywhere else would require leaving the system and that was not an option.

“We can’t go back to the palace, not yet,” she said. “Is there somewhere else we can go? Somewhere private where we can discuss and possibly continue researching?”

Korkie stood up straight as if a light flashed above his head.

“Back to my academy dormitory. If Aunt Satine has already paged me, it means they’ve already checked. Let’s go,” Korkie said and started running back toward the school. He pulled out a commlink and quickly hit a few buttons as the two teenagers ran.

“What are you doing?” Sabra asked.

“This is a private commlink with my friends. They’ll let us into the Academy so that we don’t have to scan in. It’ll keep us from being detected,” Korkie responded and continued up the walkway.

The two quickly rounded a corner and dashed through the gates of the Academy, where Lagos, Amis and Soniee were waiting with the door held open.

“Hurry up, mate!” Amis said as he ushered the two inside. Sabra followed Korkie and his friends through the quieted hallways of the Academy. “Classes have five minutes left, let’s get you back to the room.”

Sabra tailed closely behind the four teenagers as they snuck through the halls of the Academy, which were lined with school pendants, holoscreens with announcements and arrows pointing to different parts of the school. She had never been in a school building before, the Temple classrooms were all just on separate floor levels but each floor looked similar to the next.

 _To think I’d probably be in one of these if I weren’t a Jedi,_ she thought to herself as they reached the dormitory section of the school. _The idea of staying in one place doesn’t sound that exciting._

The teenagers quickly shuffled into Korkie and Amis’s room where they shut the door and made themselves comfortable in different parts of the small dormitory. There were two bunks built into the wall, the top appearing to be Korkie’s due to the photo of Satine on the pull-out nightstand. The center of the room had a large table with four seats around it and a holotransmitter in the center. Next to the door was one master computer that had similar announcements to the holoscreens outside.

“I’m glad you received my transmission,” Korkie said setting down in one of the chairs. “I know I’ve been out of contact these past few days.”

“Of course. What have you been up to?” Soniee asked as she settled on the bottom bunk.

“Yeah you were supposed to be back at the Academy today but you never showed,” Lagos said. “We’ve been worried about you.”

“There’s a lot to catch you all up on,” Korkie said with a sigh. “But first, let me introduce you all to Jedi Padawan Sabra Eiben. She accompanied one of the Senator’s that has attended my aunt’s negotiations over Mandalore.”

Sabra gave a small smile and light bow. “A pleasure, truly,” she said as the other teenagers gave her a once over.

“Must be our luck year,” Amis said. “Now we can say we’ve been in the presence of two Jedi now. The first being your friend Ahsoka Tano.”

Recognition immediately passed over Sabra’s face at the mention of her friend’s name. When Ahsoka had arrived to help teach the Academy, she had said she met four students who already had a bright future in detecting corruption in government. But she hadn’t really specified on names. Now it made sense.

“Ahsoka told me how you were able to stop former Prime Minister Almec from continuing to receive profit from his black market deals and added taxes,” Sabra said. She then turned to Korkie. “Now I understand why we came here.”

“What does she mean?” Amis asked looking at Korkie. Korkie opened his bag and pulled out all of the information he and Sabra had gathered and put together over the last few days, laying it all out for everyone to start looking through.

“Are these birth and health records of Clan Kryze?” Soniee asked as she began to riffle through the holopads and notes. “You’re looking into your background, aren’t you?”

Korkie nodded. “I couldn’t let that initial test go,” he said. Korkie then went into the long but paraphrased story of what he and Sabra had discovered from their meeting in the library, to sneaking into Satine’s private library to the doctor’s visit earlier that day. He talked about how the doctor confirmed that Alastor and Prilla were, in fact, not Korkie’s real parents but refused to mention any more than that.

When Korkie finished, the other three cadets were speechless, mulling over all of what Korkie had told them. Sabra picked up on their stun and confusion in the Force, no one quite sure what to say or how to appropriately react.

“So where do we start then?” Lagos asked approaching the table. “You and Sabra have done much work in discovering your origins. Now you have us to help you further along.”

Korkie beamed at his friends quickly before standing up and explaining further into what was next.

“Dr. Loff wrote down this number before I had to leave,” Korkie said as he put the flimsy on the table. “Sabra and I think it’s a year, sometime around the end of the Mandalorian Civil War. He also said to not just limit it to Alastor and Prilla.”

Lagos and Soniee collectively looked at the number together, deep in concentration.

“So he was suggesting looking into other members of your family perhaps?” Lagos asked. “Out of the files you collected, did you take anyone else’s?”

“As far as I could tell, we only took documents surrounding Alastor and Prilla,” Sabra said. “I also hate to put any pressure but the palace is expecting us and will probably look for us if we take too long.”

“Sabra’s right,” Korkie said. “For all we know they could be searching for us right now. We always could sneak back into the library but after the first break-in the palace will most certainly be on high alert.”

Soniee was still concentrating on the year when she pulled her spectacles over her nose and began typing away on her laptop. “I think I have a solution,” she said as she clicked away, receiving a shrug from the other cadets. “You two certainly did the harder work by sneaking into that library, but little did you know that I have ways of accessing Dr. Loff’s database.”

The cadets looked around wide-eyed at each other with Sabra as Soniee worked.

“We could certainly use someone like you in battle,” Sabra murmured to herself as Soniee motioned for Korkie to come over. The screen was illuminated with hundreds of file names, all related to Clan Kryze in the year. “How do we know they aren’t tracking us accessing these files?”

“This computer is authorized by the Mandalorian government. With a few loopholes, I was able to add a cloaking program so that my research wouldn’t be undisturbed. Hasn’t caused any issues yet,” Soniee said as she continued clacking away. It only took her a few minutes and a handful of pop-up screens and firewall passages until she came across a window with pages and pages and pages of documents and files.

“I was able to find a loophole in the security measures to access the files we could be looking for,” she said. “And going off of the Hosnian Prime calendar, we should be looking at all records pertaining to Clan Kryze for the year 7938.”

Korkie and Sabra began to look at the long lists of files, each with complex and encrypted names. But there were thousands and the list seemed to continue on for ages. Lagos and Amis had joined in skimming over the data as well, eyes keen to find something out of place or that seemed to have any significance.

“Gah, it’s going to take us ages to find whatever it is you’re looking for,” Amis said straightening up. “Isn’t there a way we could narrow down our search?”

“We could always try narrowing it down to medical records,” Sabra said. “If this is indeed the end of the Mandalorian Civil War, there shouldn’t be that many medical records at all, so they’ll be easier to distinguish.”

Soniee clicked around a little bit more before the list of files decreased significantly.

“Much better,” Lagos said as each of the teenagers started decrypting and searching for anything of importance.

“This is interesting,” Sabra said in the middle of skimming. “This takes place the year after everyone in Clan Kryze, other than the Duchess, was killed or executed. So why are there so many medical files for this year?”

Soniee scrolled through the list, looking at the names and files. 

“Whoever they belong to, they weren’t seeking medical attention for war injuries,” she said. “And… it appears that these medical records are only for two people, but one person has more than the other.”

“Well who are the two people they belong to?” Amis asked.

“Wait, I recognize a few of these documents,” Korkie said looking closer at the screen. “That’s my birth certificate. Guys these documents are from the year I was born!”

“So that must mean the only two people these documents could be regarding are for you and whoever your mother really is!” Lagos exclaimed.

Soniee clicked around some more. “She’s right! Here’s Korkie’s birth certificate and another one of these records is for a few days later after he was born! But, this is strange. Some of these records have been edited. There’s documentation here saying major changes were made to these documents in the few days after they were created.”

Korkie could feel his heart pound inside his chest. The answers he possibly could be looking for were right in front of him. All of the endless searching he’d done the past few days were leading up to this moment and he could barely contain his excitement and his anxiety to know the truth. He’d be able to see who his parents really were, when his real birthday was and maybe why someone had changed his whole life to fit a different narrative. Maybe he’d discover who it was trying to manipulate his life and why no one spoke up to tell him before.

Sabra picked up on Korkie’s anxiety and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Korkie,” she said, pulling him out of his thoughts. “Are you OK?”

Korkie nodded slowly, taking in deep breaths to try and calm his crazy heart. Somehow, maybe through Sabra’s use of the Force, he could feel himself becoming calmer and more collected. He looked at his three friends who looked at him with concerned but comforting expressions.

“Yeah,” he said. “I think I’m just ready for some answers is all. I just want to know the truth.”

“Now, Korkie, there may be information in here you aren’t ready to learn,” Soniee said carefully. “I can only assume that if this information has been hidden from you, it could’ve been an attempt to protect you or someone else.”

Sabra felt Korkie’s Force change in demeanor. She could sense his sudden onset of worry and fear mixed with anxiety. He knew that whatever he was about to learn from these documents Soniee was able to find would change his life forever. Or maybe it wouldn’t change anything at all and this was just a giant goose chase.

The silence was interrupted with a loud banging on the door, startling everyone.

“It’s an administrator of some kind,” Sabra said, earning a strange look from the other cadets. Amis ran to the door and peaked through the viewfinder on the door.

“Shit she’s right!” he said. Soniee began to type furiously on her computer as the other teenagers straightened up and Sabra leaned against a wall, hidden from the door. Lagos hopped up on Amis’s bunk while Korkie quickly gathered up his holopads and documents. Before Amis could open the door, Soniee took Korkie’s hand, placing a small Academy drive in it.

“All the info you need,” she said before running back to the table and taking a seat so that Amis could let the administrator’s in. It was the Academy’s headmaster that was at the door, along with two of Satine’s personal guards behind him.

“Evening, sir!” Amis said, trying to sound nonchalant. “Never an anxious moment when your headmaster comes knocking at your door, eh?”

The headmaster gave Amis a curious look before shaking his head and looking beyond him at Korkie.

“Normally I would be concerned that you’ve created some kind of trouble,” the headmaster said, stroking his trimmed face. “But alas I’ve come for Cadet Korkie who has yet to return to the palace on the Duchess’s orders. Come along son.”

Korkie sighed, motioning for Sabra to follow and pocketed the little drive that Soniee had snuck into his hand. Sabra appeared from behind the wall, cautiously following Korkie into the hallway where Satine’s guards were waiting. The headmaster seemed to be oblivious if there was some sort of trap set up for the two teenagers, but the guards didn’t seem to want to hurt them in any way. A good sign already.

“The guards will escort the both of you back,” the headmaster said as the group exited the dormitory area of the school. “But whatever you two have done has definitely caught the attention of the Duchess. Personal guards are only ever sent here for emergencies.”

***

The palace was oddly quiet when the two teenagers returned and a looming undercurrent of lockdown filled the Force as they walked through the courtyard. The senators from the Separatist and Republic sides were supposed to be on a recess before dinner but none of the senators were anywhere to be found.

Sabra heightened her senses in the Force immediately. They were only supposed to be on Mandalore until tomorrow afternoon. It seemed oddly strange they would be taking a long break when their time together was coming to an end, and it seemed that no progress on either side had been made at all.

Guards were standing all over the palace, very out of character, Korkie observed.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many Mandalorian palace guards before,” Sabra said as they walked inside. “I don’t sense any danger but the whole palace seems to be on high alert.”

The hallways of the palace were just as empty as the courtyards and palace entrances outside. It was growing dark outside and the palace was starting to illuminate an eerie glow throughout the emptied, abandoned hallways.

“Whatever it is, my Aunt Satine is on her guard,” Korkie said. “It’s very rare that she calls for the entire brigade to be on high alert.”

As the teenagers walked closer to the entrance of the throne room, they were surprised to bump into Áine, who was looking very nervous at the moment. Her eyes seemed to be getting bloodshot and there were hair strands coming undone from her updo. A small sense of relief seemed to pass over her in the Force when she saw Korkie and Sabra approach.

“Ah good, glad to see you both are in one shape,” she said giving them a once over. Sabra and Korkie looked curiously at each other.

“Is everything alright?” Korkie asked the disheveled handmaiden. “Was there a threat of an attack? Why are there so many guards around?”

Áine put a hand on Korkie’s shoulder before slowly turning him away from the throne room.

“All in good time,” she said before turning to look at Sabra. Her face wasn’t hard or stern, but it still sent shivers down Sabra’s back at how immediate she changed her expression. Sabra was right, something was out of place and she had the feeling being a Jedi wasn’t helping at all in some way or another. “The Duchess will come to retrieve you, Padawan. For now, please wait in the throne room.”

Korkie shot Sabra a confused look, but Sabra was understanding. All she could do was keep her cool. She softened her eyes at the fearful Korkie, who was projecting his emotions like crazy. Before either could say anything, Áine wrapped her arm around Korkie’s shoulder and steered him to start walking away. Even when they turned the corner, she could hear Áine and Korkie’s hushed whispers, as she tried to calm him down and keep him from continuing to question anything.

Sabra sighed and gathered herself in the Force. All around her, it seemed to hum, telling her to keep her guard up and trust her feelings. She couldn’t sense the presence of the senators nearby, which meant they probably had retired to their quarters for now.

She lightly nudged on her Force bond with Obi-Wan. His end was quiet but was also humming softly, which meant he was probably still awake to some degree. It was the middle of the night on Coruscant and knowing her Master, he was probably in their shared quarters hunched over a holopad with some report or other. Obi-Wan was an insomniac though he never liked to admit it. Sabra debated whether or not tugging gently on their bond, hoping for a little bit of comfort as she wondered what the Duchess could possibly want with her at the moment.

But Obi-Wan’s Force was quieting itself, which meant he was probably on the brink of falling asleep.

Sabra pushed the thought aside and cast off her anxiety into the Force. Whatever was happening, she would just have to find out.

Sabra fidgeted with the ends of her robes as she waited in the empty throne room. The elegant room felt so cold and empty in the Force as she waited. To think earlier that day it was filled with conversation and passion from a handful of senators debating over sides and trade regulations and now it was just a bare room.

 _They know,_ the Force seemed to whisper in Sabra’s ear. _Satine knows what you’ve been doing and now you’re going to be the reason the Jedi AND the Republic are never permitted to enter Mandalorian space again._

Sabra ignored these thoughts, silencing that part of her brain best she could. She was overthinking and had to stop herself. But she couldn’t think of any reason why the Duchess had asked for her specifically to meet her.

Alone.

She was surprised Senator Organa hadn’t tried to comm her at all. It was almost as if he forgot that he brought her along. He was probably stressed as hell about whatever trade things he was trying to keep. A lot weighed on the Duchess’s decision.

The only thing Sabra knew for certain was Satine wanted to know information. That’s the only reason she could’ve wanted to see Sabra alone. She shook her head out again to relieve her anxiety. She needed to calm down. Sometimes she took after Master Skywalker and let her thoughts catch up to her. But rather than go with what the creeping fears in the Force would say, Sabra would take deep breaths and close her eyes to calm down, casting those feelings away and centering herself to the present.

It didn’t always work for Anakin, but it worked for her plenty.

Sabra opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. She stood in front of the window where light had started to shine from Sundari’s recreated digital sun. What she wouldn’t give to have her Master with her right now and ask for his advice. She was about to forget Courscant’s time and yank on their shared bond in the Force, but quickly hesitated.

Even if he would be half asleep, Obi-Wan would then ask questions. Too many questions and Sabra didn’t know if she felt like answering him. She was surprised to feel a gentle wave of warmth and calmness flood to her through the Force, as if Obi-Wan sensed her anxiety anyway. She must’ve woken him up.

 _Calm,_ he said through the bond before falling silent once again. He was back asleep in an instant. Sabra sighed, a small smile forming on her face and tried to reflect to calm her nerves. But she caught herself running situations through her head as her anxiety level rose. As much as she could, she casted her anxieties and worries into the Force, but it didn’t stop the uneasy feeling that was overcoming her.

Now she wished Korkie were here to provide some kind of guidance or advice when talking to the Duchess alone. They were related- well supposedly. She didn’t even know if that was true anymore.

Sabra was pulled out of her thoughts when a door opened and the Duchess stood with her hands folded.

“Padawan Sabra,” she said calmly with a light smile while not moving from the door way. Sabra bowed when she approached the door.

“Good evening, your highness,” she said, trying to steady her voice. She steadily bowed.

“Please follow me. We will discuss in my office.”

Sabra felt her stomach drop as she straightened up and followed the Duchess through the door and into a hallway that brought them further into the palace. They walked a short distance until Satine opened a heavy door, inviting Sabra inside.

The office was smaller than Sabra would’ve imagined a duchess to have, with a desk in the middle, facing the door with the signature tall windows towering behind it. There was a neat stack of paperwork on the desk, with the rest of the paperwork scattered all over the long credenza sitting against the wall with the windows. It was very similar to the small information office on the other side of the palace, with less holobook shelves and more elegance.

Off to the right was a small fire place, with two arm chairs in front.

Satine closed the heavy door behind herself and walked over to the armchairs, gesturing for Sabra to follow.

“Please, have a seat,” she said lowering herself into one of the chairs. Sabra did as she was told. As she made her way to the chairs, she called on the Force to help her read the room. She couldn’t quite get a good reading on Satine. She was calm and closed off, but there was a sense of anticipation and curiosity in the room that only made Sabra more aware.

“Master Kenobi spoke very highly of you the last time we spoke,” she said. “He must be an excellent teacher.”

Sabra felt her breathing slow down. So she was going to start with a casual conversation. Sabra could handle that.

“He is,” she said carefully. “He’s definitely become more wise, I’m sure, since he was a teenager, but other than that and becoming a master, he hasn’t changed a bit.” Satine chuckled at that. Sabra couldn’t recall Satine with such a genuine smile. Even at the banquet dinner she’d seemed to wear a mask of politeness. Now it was just happiness.

“Having known him when he was a teenager, that doesn’t surprise me one bit,” she said.

There was silence between the two women that Sabra found uncomfortable but the Force was buzzing lightly, keeping her on her toes.

“What did you wish to speak with me about?” Sabra asked. She was always bad at getting right to the point and shocked herself at the words that had left her mouth. Satine was also slightly shocked but her eyes quickly softened.

She hadn’t know Sabra very long, and had only met her once before when she was being escorted to Coruscant on the Coronet.

Sabra could see the similarities between Satine and her master. She was exceptionally poised and elegant, and a face that was very hard to read without being critical or off-putting. Her eyes seemed to scan Sabra up and down without moving at all and there wasn’t a single thing about her appearance or demeanor that indicated she was out of place.

“Yes of course,” Satine said cooly before clearing her throat. “I’ve received reports that someone has been accessing my family’s records, looking at birth certificates, life policies and reports on the Klan Kryze. They’ve been doing this through my high-security library terminal where they accessed sensitive information.”

Sabra felt her heart beat. She was right after all, they were on to her and Korkie’s researching. If Korkie were here he’d be able to better explain, but the fact that Satine wanted to talk to her alone meant that this was going somewhere Sabra didn’t like.

“As I’m sure you are aware, this is a privacy issue for the Clan and I can’t have it happening in my palace. I don’t suppose you would know who is accessing these records or what it is they are looking for.” Satine studied the Jedi Padawan’s face, looking for any trace of discomfort, guilt or shame. But she didn’t budge.

“Was the assailant looking for any particular person or group of people?” Sabra asked, trying to sound interested in helping the Duchess. She had to maneuver around her and Korkie being the ones who downloaded the files.

“Yes, in fact,” Satine said, quickly trying to think of another strategy. “It appears that they are skimming through my family history. Looking through birth and death records, family history within the Kryze Clan. They also seem to have particular interest in the documents surrounding the Mandalorian Civil War.”

Sabra raised an eyebrow. “Curious,” she said. “Is there anything you would like me to do?”

Satine leaved forward. “Sabra,” she said. “I know that you have been running around with my nephew helping him look for information.” Satine reached into her dress pocket and pulled out Korkie’s disk drive, immediately making Sabra’s stomach sink. “My handmaidens were polishing up your robes when they found this in one of the pockets.”

Sabra tried her best to keep a straight face, to not show any sign of weakness or submission. In the Force, she could feel Satine’s anticipation as if she had finally cornered Sabra right where she wanted her to be.

“Sabra, I need to know why you and Korkie would make copies of such high-profile documents and what you wanted to learn,” Satine finally said. “What information could he possibly be so desperate to get a hold of? What is he looking to accomplish? As a Jedi, I’m sure you know how dangerous this information can be.” Satine sat back, almost adjusting herself to get comfortable while Sabra confessed. “And before you say anything, I know Korkie would simply dodge my questions no matter how much I ask.”

The Force was tame. Sabra knew she couldn’t lie to Satine. She was the one who had let her stay in the first place when she hadn’t exactly been invited. She was already treading on thin ice with the palace guards after their near slip-up in the library as well and really couldn’t afford to cause any tension for sake of the Republic and the Jedi. She took in a quiet breath and began to speak.

“Korkie and I have simply been looking for information about his background and his parents,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “He felt guilty about constantly asking you questions about a part of your past that is triggering for you and decided to look himself so as not to make you uncomfortable.”

“I see,” Satine said, a little too unsteadily.

Satine felt her heart begin to race a little and didn’t realize that Sabra was noticing her nervousness. But as she tried to keep straight, she began to think to herself, _What am I worried about? Any trace of him back to me has been properly taken care of._

She took in a quiet breath as well. “Then why was it essential that you break into my private library and records database?” Satine asked. “You understand that I could have you arrested for breaking into a private area and stealing information.”

Sabra nodded. It felt like the two women were characters on a Dejarik board, and each time either spoke was a passive move to avoid conflict. One wrong move and you were at risk of being taken out of the game and being outnumbered by your opponent.

“It appeared that some information on a recent DNA test was a little off in the information he knew already, so we decided to investigate,” Sabra said cooly. She chose her words carefully, hoping that maybe Satine would consider telling Korkie the truth so that he didn’t have to question himself anymore. But Satine only seemed to get more anxious. Her folded hands seemed to be tightening into a clench as she pondered her next move.

“What information could’ve possibly been wrong?” she asked with a nervous laugh. “As I’m sure you are aware, Clan Kryze is known for its excellent bookkeeping across the galaxy. Surely you are mistaken.” Another passive move from Satine.

“Obi-Wan did tell me about this,” Sabra said before stifling a chuckle. “In fact he was fascinated by it entirely. You know how obsessed he can become about books. But that doesn’t explain why the DNA test that Korkie took while at a government school were incorrect.”

Satine pondered this for a moment. She vaguely remembered hearing Korkie mention this project in some form a few days before, but hadn’t said much. But the realization was starting to hit her that Korkie had seen the genetic make-up Satine was hoping he would never have to find. Her heart was starting to accelerate in pace, but she tried to keep her cool, hoping Sabra wouldn’t notice her nervousness increasing. She took a deep breath and pursed her lips.

“All I can think of is that there must have been a mistake,” she said. “Perhaps the machine made an error.”

Sabra felt nerves inching around her in the Force. Satine had folded her hands tighter since they had sat down and she held Sabra’s gaze with an intensity that made shivers travel down her spine. Sabra could feel how Satine tried to hide her vulnerability with the excuse. She was already tied up in this family knot and she was going to find a way to untie it.

“But you have to admit, it is suspicious that something like a DNA test could be flawed,” Sabra said, testing the waters to see how far she could push. Satine shifted carefully.

“I agree,” she said stiffly. “However the school machines probably have years on them and are more prone to glitches. I shall have the school investigate at once, but I assure you that Korkie is in fact a Kryze.”

“I never said Korkie wasn’t a Kryze,” Sabra said, finding her opportunity. “And how could the machine be wrong if it analyzes a blood sample?”

“I don’t know-“ Satine said, a hint of frustration in her tone. “Sabra, you are treading on thin water and this nonsense about Korkie’s background has gotten out of hand! I should have you-”

“Korkie knows the Prilla and Alastor are not his real parents,” Sabra interrupted. Satine froze, a look of disbelief washing over her face. She was unreadable in the Force. “We have record of someone going into government databases and altering Korkie’s birth and medical records to fit some false narrative.”

Satine grew very quiet. Her eyes were closed and she was mulling over her thoughts.

“Sabra, you have no idea what kind of disaster you and Korkie have stumbled upon,” she said quietly. “You have just put the kingdom in jeopardy with no concern to how this could affect the royal family!”

“Korkie would’ve found out anyway!” Sabra pushed back. Satine was standing now and Sabra had followed, the two in almost a face-off stance before Satine rubbed her eyes and took another breath. “Satine, Korkie found the records that someone tampered with his medical records and as far as I know, he could be looking through them right now. Why is this information being kept from him?”

Satine had turned away from Sabra to hide her face. Sorrow and grief flooded the Force around Sabra and she could feel Satine’s walls cracking and falling a part as she tried to keep them together.

“Satine, we need to know what is in those files before someone else gets whim that Clan Kryze doesn’t know how to properly maintain records,” Sabra said, carefully approaching Satine to see that tears had started to well in her eyes.

“It’s a very long, painful story,” she said softly. “But it’s true. Prilla is not Korkie’s mother.

“I am.”

_Before…_

It was the first time they felt the safety of the Force wrap around them without fear creeping in through the cracks. After months of constantly running, dodging, hiding and sneaking, Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Satine had found safety. They were in the midst of evading yet another bounty hunter attack when Clan Elder soldiers had appeared to their aid, fighting off the bounty hunters while leading the weary Duchess and her Jedi to a speeder to be taken to the Clan Elder palace.

Prilla was the daughter of the Clan Elder leader Sorji, who welcomed the weary travelers into his home. They were served hearty meals of meat and broth and treats for their wounds and injuries. Their tattered clothes were replaced and repaired as they bathed for the first time in months and beds had been properly drawn up for the three of them, with guards placed outside of Satine’s room for extra protection.

Satine looked out the window at the Eldar palace in front of her. The sun had now set over the horizon and the landscape was beginning to illuminate with the city lights in the distance. Somewhere tucked away in the distance, someone was hunting her. Someone was planning an attack on her or planning her death. She was safe behind the Eldar palace walls but they would have to leave soon and get rid of any way they could be tracked for her safety.

Satine could feel her heart beat faster as she thought about going back out to the unknown. It had been so long since they had proper shelter from the outdoor elements and it was the first time in so long that she’d been able to properly bathe or have a decent meal. She was afraid to leave. She wished she could stay, hide away in one of the Clan Eldar palace closets and stay there, never to be found until this whole ordeal was over. Satine could feel tears welling up in her eyes.

She had no idea who she could trust anymore. Her brother and his wife were gone, their unborn baby dead along with them. Her father’s body was probably still untouched in the palace on Sundari, with her mother’s body probably not far away.

Then there was Bo-Katan, who had fled the palace, slipping through the swarms of palace guards and Mandalorian warriors that clashed at the staged coup. Bo-Katan had left her behind, or was it she who left Bo-Katan?

Satine was shaking now, feeling so small and alone. She leaned against the window with her fingers gripping the sill to try and steady herself.

“Satine?”

Obi-Wan was there now, with one hand on her arm and the other wrapped around her shoulder. Satine could feel herself start to calm down as Obi-Wan led her over to the bed and sat her down. Immediately upon hitting the mattress, she threw her arms around his waist in a strong hug, afraid to let go. Obi-Wan froze, his arms held up awkwardly as he debated what to do. He finally settled them around her, returning the hug. He could feel the fear and grief radiating off of her like a steaming rock. She slightly trembled under his arms, hers tightening around his injured ribs, but he didn’t have the heart to tell her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked softly, stroking her hair. “It’s alright, Satine. We’re safe.”

Satine looked up slightly at him and Obi-Wan could see how scared she was through her eyes. She looked so tired and so stressed and it broke Obi-Wan’s heart.

“It doesn’t seem like anywhere is safe anymore,” Satine said quietly. “I truly don’t know how much longer I can keep running like this.”

Obi-Wan gently gripped her shoulder and sent calming waves through the Force, hoping to ease Satine’s anxiety. He could feel her hands grip the ends of his robe as she took deep breaths. It was honestly a relief to be able to hold each other for comfort and not as a method to retain heat from the cold, rainy weather.

“You are not alone, Satine,” Obi-Wan said calmly. “I promise you, we will not let them bring you harm.”

“But they’ve caused you and Qui-Gon so much pain,” Satine said, resting her hand over Obi-Wan’s ribs, which were currently wrapped in bandages after a recent turtle with a Trandoshan. There was also a scar healing over on his temple and knife slash on his arm from deflecting another Rodian’s blade.

Qui-Gon had just as many scars and injuries, but didn’t take the brunt of the attacks as Obi-Wan had lately. Through the Force, Obi-Wan could feel his Master meditating himself into a restorative trance, so as not to sleep and stay aware of any danger that could come through the night.

“Satine, it is our duty to protect you,” Obi-Wan said. He lifted Satine’s chin with a finger so that she looked him in the eyes. “I said I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you and I intend to keep that promise.”

Satine held Obi-Wan’s gaze, her heart beating quickly as she sat up slightly to join his lips with hers. Obi-Wan felt the muscles in his stomach ripple from the sensation of her kiss, not wanting to part ways. His hand gently cupped her face as her hand slid up his chest to rest on his neck.Peace radiated through the Force around them, as if to shield them from harm and wrap them in a bubble for the two of them to be together.

Obi-Wan gently started to lean back with Satine carefully following. Satine twisted onto her side and used her free hand to run her fingers through Obi-Wan’s freshly washed hair.

Obi-wan could feel his pulse through his erection. Satine’s other hand drifted from his chest over his belly to open the front of his robe and run her fingers across his torso. Chills ran up Obi-Wan’s spine as her hand travelled further to slip under his waistband. Obi-Wan inhaled sharply as she began to stroke him gently.

Satine’s movements were so intoxicating and Obi-Wan was becoming drunk with lust. His hands felt their way down Satine’s body as he lifted up her tunic and traced a hand over her breasts.

“Obi,” Satine said breathlessly as his thumb brushed over her hardened nipples. Their kisses became more hungry and lustful until clothes and socks were quickly being removed and tossed to the floor. Obi-Wan had guided Satine down onto the bed with his right leg gently nudging its way between hers. Satine’s arms wrapped around Obi-Wan’s middle to explore. He was so lean, with hard muscle protected by his tanned skin.

She could feel every muscle, scar and scratch as she indulged. But when her hand reached under his bandaged ribs and over lower belly at a gunshot he’d received earlier, she hesitated. How many of these scars were because of her? Which ones resulted from him putting himself in the line of fire so that she would be safe? She knew Obi-Wan had been in battle before coming to Mandalore to protect her but how many of these scars were new?

Her fingers traced the wound until she felt Obi-Wan’s hand hover over hers.

“They don’t hurt me anymore,” he said gently. “They will heal.” Obi-Wan wrapped his arms around Satine’s shoulders and pulled her in again as she joined her lips with his. She started to kiss him harder and faster as he scooped his arm around her waist to position her directly under him. Satine’s legs wrapped themselves around his hips, her desire wet and pulsing, waiting for him.

“Are you sure?” Obi-Wan whispered, propping himself up on an elbow.

“Please,” she said before lustfully kissing him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Another mini snippet of Satine and Obi-Wan before TPM! (side not I'm not the best at writing steamy scenes so I hope you enjoyed this little snippet)
> 
> This chapter was hard to write just because I wanted to make sure that everything is properly tying together (you'll hear me say that a lot). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I want to know what you think so far! What do you think will happen next? 
> 
> Stay safe and healthy! R&R


	10. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I had some extra time on my hands with the crazy winter weather we got this week so here we are with the next chapter of this series a lot earlier than I anticipated!
> 
> See you at the end of the chapter!

“It’s a very long, painful story,” she said softly. “But it’s true. Prilla is not Korkie’s mother. I am.”

Sabra froze. She couldn’t have heard Satine say that correctly but the Force that surrounded Satine was dead silent. Satine’s back was turned to Sabra, but her shoulders were starting to hang low. It couldn’t be that simple. Or that easy. Something was wrong here.

“You’re… what?” Sabra asked, rubbing the side of her right ear, hoping she had heard Satine wrong.

“Korkie is not my nephew. He never has been,” Satine said. “I carried him, gave birth to him and here we are.” Satine hadn’t moved a muscle. She was tense, trying to raise any boundary or wall to keep Sabra out, but Sabra had already found her opening.

“I don’t understand at all,” she said. “If Korkie is actually your son, then why did you raise him as your nephew? Why create the whole charade and let Korkie live a lie?”

Satine turned to Sabra, sitting back down in her chair. Her hands were slightly shaking and there was a shutter as if a chill was going down her back.

“Sabra, you may not understand now but it unfortunately was the only way. I had to protect him and keep him safe. I lost my entire family during the Mandalorian War and I couldn’t let anything happen to him. He’s truly all I have left.”

“But that still doesn’t answer why you hid Korkie’s real identity from him this whole time, AND managed to fool an entire government in to thinking that Prilla and Alastor had a son,” Sabra said. Satine only shook her head in response before rubbing her eyes and resting her head in her hands. The trauma she’d worked so hard to bury deep down inside of her was slowly becoming unburied again.

“Sabra, please,” Satine said. “This is a very painful topic of conversation for me.”

“And this is Korkie’s life,” Sabra pushed back, her emotions starting to get the best of her. She had spent the last few weeks sneaking around the palace and breaking into top secret family records only for it all to be laid out like this and then covered up. “This entire time that he’s been searching for answers, he’s wondering why someone could create a lie about his life and keep it from him. Knowing him, if he doesn’t find an answer, he’s going to let it tear him apart.”

Satine shook her head, her eyes closed and her hands folded over her lips. “Sabra, I’m telling you. You don’t understand the position I was in.”

“The position YOU’RE in?” Sabra cried, frustratedly. “What about the position Korkie’s going to be in when he learns that YOU lied to him about where he comes from? Or that his whole life has been a lie!”

“Because he will NEVER know!” Satine cried back, standing up with her hands balled into fists at her sides. She and Sabra were practically nose-to-nose, in each others faces. Sabra could feel Satine’s stubbornness hug her in a cocoon, trying to form a line of defense but her patience was quickly being worn down but Sabra didn’t care. She rarely stood up to an authority figure like this, and if she wasn’t careful, she could be the reason the Republic really is banned off of Mandalore. Part of her told her to back off and let it go, but she was in too deep. She managed to get this far and she was going to see it through.

“Satine,” Sabra said, staring straight into her eyes. “Korkie has accessed the files that were edited and altered shortly after he was born and he knows where to go to see who changed the files and what information was erased. For all we know, he could be looking through them right now.”

“That is not likely. After Áine gave you instructions to meet in the throne room, I told her to take Korkie’s things assuming this was the case. And I’m glad I did,” Satine said, starting to back off and cross her arms. “You don’t understand what kind of scandal and danger you could’ve awakened.”

“But no matter how much you remove his access and take away information he’s already gathered, he’s still going to find a way,” Sabra said, with a gentler tone. “In the little time I’ve gotten to know Korkie, it’s that he won’t give up when he sniffs something out of place. I need to know what it is that you won’t let him learn.”

Satine looked slightly defeated. She shook her head slightly and flailed her arms as if to gesture to the room around them.

“Because this would not be here had I decided to raise Korkie as my son,” she said, letting out a huff of air. “The war was caused by war-fairing mongrels who sought to destroy my family line. I rebuilt that kingdom through peaceful, pacifist ways in attempt to change who Mandalorians are and what we stand for.

“I was young and unmarried when I conceived Korkie and took the throne. If I’d made it known that I was pregnant, I wouldn’t be taken seriously by a kingdom that already didn’t trust me. And if I’d terminated the pregnancy, someone would’ve found out and I’d be a fraud by my own people. It was essential that Korkie was kept a secret,” Satine said.

“So you used your brother’s death as a perfect cover up and let Korkie believe that’s where he came from all along,” Sabra said. “The pieces all fell perfectly for you.”

Satine gave Sabra a pleading and exhausted look. “I never intended for it to be that way… but yes I guess that’s what happened. And that story still needs to stand,” she said becoming stern.

“Hold on,” Sabra said. “You just confirmed to me that you are in fact, Korkie’s mother and now you’re telling me that I can’t tell him this? After all this work he’s put in trying to figure out his heritage and he doesn’t get to learn the truth?”

“You don’t understand how dangerous this information is, and if it gets out, that could mean corruption and outrage could arise from my kingdom. I don’t know if you noticed but our prime minister is already imprisoned because of corruption. The last thing that needs to be exposed is the duchess as Well.”

Sabra couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but she could see Satine’s point… to an extent. She wondered how bad family secrets could actually be for the palace until she realized she’d seen whole systems tear apart from the inside from a secret or scandal that families had thought would be buried away to never be uncovered.

But what was really at stake here? So the Duchess had a secret son out of wedlock. Many royal leaders and governing bodies were guilty of this as Well. This couldn’t be what she was truly worried about. Sabra reached into the Force to read Satine again, who was feeling extremely tense, but was extremely withdrawn. There was something about this that wasn’t adding up. There was something she was trying to hide.

“Alright, so you’re Korkie’s mother,” Sabra said. “So then my next question to you is who is his father?” Immediately Sabra felt Satine’s shields strengthen and her mind and attitude withdrawing and closing off even more. She had suddenly become more distressed.

“That is nothing of importance,” Satine said, too quickly for Sabra’s taste. Sabra scoffed.

Sabra thought back to the timeline of events. If she had given birth to Korkie shortly after the end of the Mandalorian Civil War, that would’ve meant she had to have conceived him while she was hiding throughout the Mandalore systems when Masters Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were supposed to be protecting her. Obi-Wan never talked about Mandalore or the year they spent protecting Satine, and there was always this guilt that seemed to lurk around his Force signature any time someone even mentioned the system name.

“Did someone hurt you?” Sabra asked carefully. “Did someone _violate_ you into conceiving Korkie?”

Satine shook her head quickly, appalled at Sabra’s statement. “No! Nothing like that,” she said quietly. “Korkie’s father didn’t harm me or hurt me. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that we were deeply in love. Taking part in a forbidden romance that would only tear us apart faster than it would allow us to be together.”

Satine’s eyes were glazed over, staring blissfully out the window as if in a memory.

“Korkie’s father is brave, and strong and very stubborn,” she laughed slightly. “We come at each other’s throats all the time. Our love for debate was strong but the love for each other seemed to always be stronger. I used to dream about a future for us together, raising Korkie as loving mother and father in a place of peace that war could never find. Or a future for Korkie with a proper family to love and raise him.” Feelings of peace began to blossom out of Satine as she talked, any feelings of withdrawal and anxiety seeming to float away.

“Korkie’s father truly sounded like a brave man,” Sabra said, more compassionately. Satine’s eyes saddened as she turned away from the window.

“Yes, he is,” she said. Sabra raised an eyebrow.

“So he is still alive then?” she inquired, sitting up in her chair in alert position. “Perhaps you two could discuss about telling Korkie the truth and working something out to where he can still have a relationship with the both of you. Then he wouldn’t have to constantly question his past and he can have a real family.”

Satine shook her head again. “Sabra, you don’t understand. If word were to get out that he is a father or that he had a form of a romantic relationship, especially with a Mandalorian, his life would be drastically changed,” Satine said turning back to her. “We can just say that it’s forbidden for him to engage in such things.”

Sabra snickered. “He sounds like a Jedi,” she said jokily. Satine wasn’t laugh. Her face didn’t budge and she seemed to take on an even more serious expression at Sabra’s statement. Slowly, Sabra’s snicker turned into confusion, then to realization, then to shock.

Korkie’s father was a Jedi.

A Jedi had broken their code and formed a romantic relationship with Satine. Not only that, but it was well known that the Mandalorians and the Jedi were sworn enemies for the longest time, and while that didn’t hold as strong anymore, it was still rare to see either of the two interacting with each other in a civil manner. It’s why Mandalore was so hesitant to welcome the Jedi into their system at all. Sabra’s mind began to race. Satine had been with a Jedi? Not only that but she’d reproduced with one and fallen in love with one? It was as hard to process as imagining a Hutt moving willingly to Hoth.

“The Jedi in question broke the code,” Sabra said, understanding passing over her face. “But that’s absurd because the only Jedi to be even on Mandalore with you at that time were…”

Sabra’s voice trailed off as the answer was like a barrel being lunged at her chest. Her eyes were wide with shock and overall confusion. She felt as if the ground had given way under her.

“Obi-Wan,” she muttered. Suddenly Satine was right in front of her, taking her hands and trying to catch her gaze with pleading eyes.

“Sabra, you must now understand why I’ve had to keep this a secret for so long,” she said. “If word were to get out that we were Korkie’s parents, both of our lives would be changed with no telling of for better or for worse. Things would be different.”

Sabra shook her head as she gulped. “Does he know?” she cried, suddenly feeling frustrated now. Satine hesitated. “Does Obi-Wan know that he has a son?”

“No,” she muttered. “I- I couldn’t tell him.”

Sabra scoffed as she stood up and walked over to the window. She didn’t understand this confusion and frustration that was swarming through her brain over the news she’d just received. Not only had Korkie been lied to, but Obi-Wan as well. This whole time, he was going around not knowing what had happened after he’d left Mandalore the first time.

“Sabra, you must understand,” Satine said quickly. “If I told him, he would’ve left everything, left the Jedi Order and his apprenticeship to come raise Korkie. He would’ve put down everything he’d worked for just to come to live a citizens life.”

Sabra was shaking her head, her neck hanging low over her chest. She didn’t know what to think or feel. This information was too much. Too much at once. Satine followed Sabra over to the window as Sabra tried to pry it open for some fresh air.

“Sabra, you realize that I’ve entrusted you with this critical information and it must stay between you and me,” she said frantically. “It is crucial that this information stays in this room and isn’t discussed with anyone else, not even Korkie!”

Sabra huffed out a breath. “First you tell me this groundbreaking news that Korkie is your son, then even more groundbreaking that my Master is his father and you expect me to say _nothing?_ ”

“ _Yes_ ,” Satine said firmly, placing a strong hand on Sabra’s shoulder, but was quickly shooed away. “I know it’s hard and difficult for you to understand but this really is for the best. For Obi-Wan, for me and for Korkie! You may not see it yet but trust me, it has to be this way!”

Sabra shook her head as it hung low below her shoulders. Her legs felt like jelly and as much as she tried to let go of her frustrations, they kept boiling back up and taking charge.

“Well what am I supposed to tell Korkie then?” Sabra asked. “Senator Organa and I are expected to leave first thing in the morning. He isn’t just going to ignore the fact that we talked and probably won’t stop until he has access to the documents telling him the information you just told me.”

Satine took Sabra’s shoulders in both hands and turned her to face her.

“You must let him believe that this was all a wild chase,” she said. “He has to see that all of the information he found was incorrect and that he truly is the son of Alastor and Prilla. He can’t know about any of this.”

“Why can’t you tell him?”

Satine pursed her lips and sighed deeply.

“When the time is right, the truth will come,” she said. “But that time is not now.” She let her hands drop from Sabra’s shoulders, which were starting to sink especially low with the knowledge that she now possessed.

“Due to the events of the past few days and the fear of compromised knowledge in the palace, I’ve postponed these negotiations with the Republic and the Separatists until we can take control over our situation again,” Satine said folding her arms. “Which means that you will be leaving tonight in a few hours. I must ask that you please return to your quarters to pack your things and then leave for the docking bay immediately. ”

“What?” Sabra looked up at Satine with surprise on her face. “Will I have a chance to say good-bye to Korkie?” she asked only to receive a shake of the head from Satine.

“I’m afraid not,” she said. Sabra’s shoulders sank even lower, as the disappointment and weight of the news fell heavily on her. Satine tilted her head, trying to catch her gaze again. “Sabra, I understand the weight you now bear with this knowledge. Please don’t think I hold anything against you. This is alls strictly royal business.”

Sabra let out a huff of breath followed by a long slow sigh. “I understand,” she said quietly before locking eyes with Satine. Satine’s hands cupped her cheeks as she offered a weak, sad smile.

“I know this is hard for you to understand,” Satine said with a soft voice. “But you have to trust me.”

***

Sabra felt like she couldn’t have gotten to her quarters any faster the second her feet hit the ground in the palace hallway. The second Satine had closed her office door, Sabra was sprinting down the emptied hallways of the palace back to her quarters.

At the sound of the closed door, Sabra felt like she couldn’t breathe. Her chest was feeling heavy as if the Force was tying a rope around her lungs to keep her from functioning. All this time and Korkie had never known. All this time, Satine was keeping secrets and Korkie was living a lie. And her Obi-Wan was completely unaware about all of this.

Sabra leaned her back against the door for it to close and ran her hands through her hair. What was she going to tell Korkie? What did this mean for their newly budding friendship? She had essentially agreed to go along with the lie. Satine had backed her into a corner through her fear of scandal and treachery and Sabra was expected to follow along.

Nausea swept over Sabra like a wave from an ocean. She needed to vomit from the pressure and shock of the news. She tried calling on the Force to ease her but it only seemed to make it worse. The Force was too intense right now and she needed to truly be alone.

Her wrist comm blinked, alerting her to answer the transmission from Obi-Wan. _Oh fuck, Obi-Wan._ This man had formed a relationship with a woman, a Mandalorian for that matter. Not only had he fallen in love _,_ but he’d _lain_ with her and conceived a child with her. Sabra felt sick again at the thought of her tightly-wound, always stoic master having sex. The Jedi weren’t celibate by any means, but Obi-Wan of all people seemed like one of the last Jedi who would engage in any kind of sexual activity.

Sabra shuttered and rubbed her eyes, running her fingers through her hair again and straightening up before pulling out the beeping device. She set it shakily on the table and when she pressed the button, a blue holoimage of her Master was now in front of her. Her stomach aggressively lurched with nerves, which she attempted to cast into the Force, at the sight of him.

“Good evening, Sabra,” he said, cheerily. “Everything going well?”

Sabra swallowed bile that was building up in her throat. “Yes, Master,” she croaked out, then quickly straightening up to appear as if nothing was wrong. “Everything going well back home?”

“Oh the same old,” her Master responded. “You summoned me at the right time. I’ve actually just finished talking Anakin out of another brash decision. I’m convinced he will be the reason my hair will gray before I hit the age of 35.”

Sabra let out a forced laugh, which she immediately regretted and took an uncomfortable gulp. Somehow in her nervous breakdown after returning to her quarters, she’d alerted Obi-Wan through their Force bond. Unfortunately, Obi-Wan had picked up on her uneasiness, folding his arms and raising an eyebrow.

“Is everything alright? When we last talked yesterday, everything seemed fine and you were on track to arrive on Coruscant tomorrow. But I can sense your anxiety through our bond,” he said. He took a closer look at his Padawan. “Are you growing ill?”

Sabra swallowed the bile forming in her mouth. “It’s just been a really long day,” she finally said. An understatement at the events that had taken place. But now Obi-Wan could tell she needed something and Sabra had to make-up something in the meantime. “Master, might I ask a question?”

“Of course, Padawan mine,” he said. Sabra swallowed. She had to ask. She had to know what his answer would be. Maybe that would calm her anxieties and make all of this just go away so she could get back to helping Korkie. But she would have to be careful in her asking.

“Master, are Jedi supposed to be celibate?” she asked. Surprisingly, Obi-Wan didn’t seem uncomfortable or alarmed at all. His Force signature as quizzical as he pondered a way to answer.

“No, not necessarily,” he said carefully. “You know Jedi aren’t allowed to harbor attachments but that doesn’t mean we are forbidden from having intercourse of any kind. Now, Sabra if you’re thinking of having sex…”

“No!” she said quickly, receiving a confused and startled expression from her Master. “I mean, no I’m not considering it, I just wasn’t sure of the technicalities.” _Fucking hell,_ she thought to herself. Sabra bit the inside of her lip before asking, “Have you ever had sex, Master?”

Obi-Wan’s Force signature flashed from confused but calm to alarmed immediately, his shields shooting up and reinforcing themselves as he thought about a way to answer Sabra’s question.Through their Force bond, Sabra could feel the lurch of surprise that rolled through Obi-Wan’s stomach at the question that caught him off guard. However, his face showed no alarm or anger for her asking, but he was definitely reserving himself.

“Well-“ he stammered, folding his arms and stroking his beard. He took in a breath and let it out slowly. “A few times when I was younger.” Sabra noticed his brow was crinkling, which he only did if he were in deep concentration or unsure of how to tread. “But that’s all I will say on that matter. I’ll reiterate, if you’re thinking of having sex, it might be a good idea if we talked about it first when you return to the Temple.”

Sabra nodded quickly as the nausea that had risen in her stomach became more intense. His answer didn’t help at all. “Yep, got it. Got it. Talk first,” she said as she pushed any stress into the Force.

“Anyway, I will be expecting your arrival from Mandalore,” he said, just as confused as Sabra was feeling uncomfortable at their conversation. “I will be at the landing dock when you arrive.”

“Yes, Master,” she said. “See you soon. Can’t wait!” _Shit,_ she cursed at herself for her casual farewell and quickly, she ended the transmission before Obi-Wan could say anything else. Across their training bond, Sabra could sense Obi-Wan’s confusion.

 _Why did you cut-off so abruptly?_ he asked through their bond, but Sabra only closed her shields tighter and pushed him out. She could still sense his hurt, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t ready for this. Instead, she walked over toward the window and looked out on the garden below. Korkie was sitting on a garden bench, reading and gazing at the dimming light over Sundari.

The more she studied his face, the more it clicked. Now she knew who he reminded her of. His hair was thick and auburn, just like Obi-Wan’s with highlights of Satine’s platinum blonde hair peaking through.

They were both even built the same: Broad shouldered with more strength in their upper bodies with narrow waists and long legs.

And Obi-Wan was Stewjoni. He’d been born there, his ancestry going way back in Stewjon history. His roots were there, and now Korkie had ties to those roots.

Sabra took in large breaths in an attempt to calm down. She released her stress into the Force to try and balance her anxiety. But now she was really in a dilemma. On the one hand, she could stay loyal to Korkie and tell him everything that happened. She could tell him Satine was his mother all along, and that his father was a universally known Jedi Master that had lain with Satine one night on the run.

But Sabra thought back to Satine and the secret she’d kept locked within herself after all these years. She had done this to protect not only Korkie’s identity, but Obi-Wan’s as well. She purposefully constructed a story so the two men with the biggest impact on her life could be safe from harm, at least from any Mandalorian harm.

She remembered Master Luminara telling her that Obi-Wan almost didn’t make it as a Padawan, and was going to be sent off to the Agri-core to live out his life as a farmer. She said his world was changed for the better when Qui-Gon agreed to bring him on as his apprentice, and ever since, Obi-Wan was fiercely loyal to the Jedi.

But that was his problem. Obi-Wan was too loyal. Had Satine told him about her pregnancy, Obi-Wan would’ve taken responsibility as he always does. He would’ve left the Jedi Order, putting his Well-deserved apprenticeship behind to help Satine raise their son and rebuild Mandalore.

Not only that, but Obi-Wan was a Jedi, and Mandalorians at the time were still extremely uneasy about relations with them. Satine would’ve been overthrown far faster than she could take the thrown and properly reestablish Clan Kryze.

Sabra needed to meditate on this. She only had a few hours until she would leave Mandalore, and possibly never return. But she couldn’t just leave without telling Korkie good-bye. She had to see him.

Sabra slowly walked down the intricate halls of the palace until she reached Korkie, sitting on one of the garden benches studying. They greeted each other with a head nod before Sabra sat down on the bench next to Korkie.

“Áine tells me that you are leaving first thing in the morning,” Korkie said. Sabra nods.

“Yes, she’s postponed further negotiations because of what we’ve done,” Sabra said. “She’s worried about a security breach.” Korkie snorted and closed his holobook, sitting back and looking up at the sky.

“We were so close,” he said. “The answers were right in our hand, and then Áine came and took it all away, saying it wasn’t safe.”

Sabra’s heart was pounding in her chest. She could tell him right then and there. She could tell him everything that Satine had told her back in her office and Korkie would know where he truly came from. She would be destroying Satine’s trust in the process and possibly putting her or Obi-Wan at risk, but Korkie deserved to know the truth.

She had just opened his mouth to speak when a loud blast stopped her and spat ash and debris over them. The impact of the apparent explosion knocked the bench off the ground, forcing the two teenagers into the foliage behind them. The clean air was now filled with dark thick smoke that encased the two from seeing anything beyond a few feet ahead.

Sabra’s ears were ringing, her hearing deafened from the explosion. She couldn’t see anything other than black smoke and wasn’t sure where in the garden the blast had forced them off to. She reached out into the Force to get a bearing of her surroundings and focus on the here and now. The Force rippled danger to her, warning her to be on her guard and keep in tune to her senses. She could sense the danger was nearby and it was coming toward them.

Where were the palace guards? Why wasn’t anyone rushing to see what the commotion was. She could hear an alarm blaring in the distance near the front of the palace but no sign or sense that a guard was present. She assumed they immediately went to the Duchess’s aide at the explosion.

Slowly, her hearing came back to her, and she could hear Korkie coughing next to her. With the Force as her eyes, she spread her arms out and felt around the smoke until her hand landed on what felt like his back. He was on all fours, coughing the ash out of his lungs and wiping his eyes.

“Are you alright?” Sabra asked as she helped him to his feet.

“Just a few scratches, nothing more,” he said through a cough. “What’s going on? Where did that blast come from?”

Korkie’s question was answered by the sound of footsteps crunching through the ruined soil all around them. Through the squishing of debris was also the sound of mechanical joints mixed with the rubbing and thumping of armor. As the smoke started to clear away, Sabra and Korkie found themselves surrounded by assassin droids with their cocked guns aiming straight at them.

Instinctively, Sabra used her arm to move Korkie behind her and reached for her lightsaber clipped to her belt before she realized she didn’t have her lightsaber- it was on Coruscant with her Master. _Shit,_ she said taking deep calm breaths. She grabbed Korkie’s arm behind her and moved into a defensive position. They were stuck.

Through the smoke, a tall cloaked figure approached the two with a weapon of his own.

“Who are you, and what do you want?” Sabra asked carefully as the cloaked figure approached them.

“Hands behind your back, both of you,” he said through a voice modulator, probably from a helmet. “Don’t fight back and no one gets hurt. You’re coming with us.”

Sabra and Korkie froze, not listening to the cloaked figure’s orders. Sabra glared back at the cloaked figure and slowly spread her feet to stand her ground but was realizing there wasn’t much she could do without a weapon against four armed attackers. She couldn’t get a better reading through the Force other than she needed to come up with a plan.

“We’re not going anywhere,” Sabra said evenly.

The cloaked figure let out a mix of a scoff and a laugh before taking the gun he had in hand and jabbed at Sabra’s shoulder hard. “NOW!” he cried, startling Korkie as they both were bound in cuffs by one of the droids. The droids forcefully grabbed the teenagers and forced them into the surrounding smoke to the balcony ledge where a speeder was waiting.

The two were forced into the back, the droids clinging onto the sides with pincers while their kidnapper hopped in the front with the driver, his weapons ready to fire at either of them. Sabra looked out of the speeder to the front of the palace. There wasn’t a guard in sight. The alarm had been raised but there were no guards running through the halls or shooting at the speeder to attempt a forced landing.

“We created a nice distraction for your precious guards,” the cloaked figure said, as if reading Sabra’s mind. “They won’t realize where we came from for hours.”

Sabra could feel Korkie’s fear radiating off of him through the Force as she assessed their situation. The binders that cuffed her hands were not made for Force-sensitive beings. She could easily get out of them if she tried and call one of the droids weapons to her hands while pushing them off.

There was only one problem with her plan and that was Korkie. In her attempt to retrieve a weapon, Korkie could be killed or threatened until she surrendered. Sabra began to meditate on this as the speeder raced farther and farther away from the palace.

The speeder zipped strategically through the traffic lanes of the city, speeding through completely undetected and weaving in and out of traffic. Korkie was starting to lose familiarity of his surroundings. They were entering a strange and quiet place of the city where supplies and rations were stored until necessary use. He had been to the cargo districts of Sundari before, but these were looking extremely unfamiliar. The sunlight that was artificially produced was becoming shadowed away from warehouse units and shipping containers until they were submerged in a very dim part of the city.

It was so quiet other than the sound of the speeder, the hum of the engine bouncing off of the steel walls as they travelled further and further into the rows of shipping bays and cargo docks.

“Where are you taking us?” Sabra demanded, the echo of her voice nearly startling Korkie at its heightened volume.

The cloaked figure aimed his gun straight for her nose.

“You’ll find out when we get there,” he said. “You and the Duchess’s nephew are going to go away for a while, and once the Duchess has made her final decision, you’ll suddenly turn up as if nothing happened.”

“You’re foolish to think our disappearance will go unnoticed,” Korkie said through clenched teeth. “They’ll track us down and have you arrested.”

The cloaked figure and the driver laughed hoarsely. “With what weapons, young one? They didn’t even come to your rescue after our grand entrance,” he said. “Your ‘aunt’ has no way of properly protecting you and will be at the mercy of our leader to make a decision that is right. So for now, you two are going to have to get used to the darkness.”

Sabra snarled, never breaking the locked gaze with the cloaked figure. Underneath the hood, she could barely make out a helmet with dark blue paint but couldn’t identify what kind of armor it was associated with. The figure cocked his head, leaning in closer to observe Sabra.

He reached out his armored hand and grabbed a part of her hair, her Jedi braid and turned it over in his fingers. He let out a chuckle.

“Well, what do we have here?” he said taking her chin in her hands and twisting her head. “I think we have ourselves a Jedi.”

Sabra shook her chin out of the figure’s hand and sat back in the speeder. “You have nothing,” she said. “Once the kingdom and the Jedi notice we’re missing, they’ll be all over Sundari looking for us. Besides, we’re worth nothing to you.”

The figure chuckled.

“For a Jedi, you don’t listen very well,” he said. “The boss will explain when we get there. But for now, I think it’s time for a little nap.” Before Sabra or Korkie could object or say a word, they both felt a hand on their neck followed by the prick of a needle. Korkie was out in seconds, but Sabra tried fighting the injection.

“You won’t get away with this,” she said groggily as she tried taking notice of their ever moving surroundings, but nothing was standing out to her. She could feel the speeder slow down as it approached a large door and landed on a platform. Sabra fell asleep before she could see who pulled her out of the speeder.

***

Without hesitation, Satine’s guards were racing to lockdown the palace when the alarms went off. They locked doors, shut windows and quickly moved Satine from her office to a safe room on the other side of the hallway behind a secret panel. The glass of her windows cracked, but didn’t shatter, as smoke clouded the view.

At the closing of the door, two of Satine’s guards pulled her aside and looked for any immediate injuries while others guarded the secret panel door.

“Milady, are you alright?” one of the guards asked, helping her to her feet.

“Yes,” she said through a cough. “Just a scratch and nothing more.” Inspector Viklok raced from one of the security corridors to meet up with Satine and the palace guards. His hair was disheveled and he looked as if the explosion had awoken him from rest.

“Duchess,” he said out of breath, pushing his hair back from his face. “How good it is to see you alright.”

“You as well, inspector,” Satine said as they walked through the corridors to a safe room. “Has the palace been successfully locked down and everyone accounted for?”

“We’re in process, milady,” Viklok responded. “Guards are taking surveillance now. But first let’s get you to the safe room.”

Satine dusted herself off as she hastened through the small, secure passageway. “Good, good. And where is Korkie?”

Inspector Viklok didn’t respond. “We’re attempting to locate him milady,” he said before dabbing his forehead with his sleeve. Satine, Viklok and the guards quickly reached the safe room, where many of the palace staff and senator guests were already awaiting her arrival.

“Milady, I’m so glad you’re alright,” Áine said while following her to the security computer. “We were worried someone had gotten to you.”

“Áine you are sweet to be worried, but I must ask that you concentrate your worry to Korkie,” Satine said, watching over the guards at the screens. “It appears he has not been located yet.

“And Padawan Sabra,” Senator Organa stepped in. “I have not heard from Padawan Sabra since she returned to the palace earlier this afternoon and she isn’t answering my transmissions.”

Satine and Áine exchanged worried looks with each other as Satine returned to the guards at the computers.

“The teenagers have to be around the palace somewhere,” she said.

“We’re searching throughout the entire palace milady,” one of the guards said. “The teenagers were last seen in the garden together before the explosion.” Satine’s heart skipped a beat as the guard pulled up the security footage from the garden. Sabra had sat down with Korkie and they were having a conversation before there was an explosion and the screen was filled with ash and smoke that concealed the two from view. A few moments later, after the smoke had cleared the way, the ruined garden was empty.

Satine pressed her hands to her heart and took in deep breaths. This was something that only haunted her nightmares and kept her awake in bed. She looked around at the room, where everyone was safe, except the one person left of her family line.

“I want the city locked down and every corridor, street and alleyway searched until we find Korkie and Sabra,” Satine said pointing a finger at Viklok, who nodded and immediately took off out of the corridor with a handful of guards behind him. Satine turned then to all of the palace workers, senators and representatives huddled in the bomb-proof safe room. “Once we got confirmation that it’s safe to leave the safe room, I want everyone to return to their quarters and be escorted by their personal guards at all times.”

Senator Griehm was sitting tucked away with some of the other senators from the Separatist side. It was too risky to pull out a comm link and check-in, but seeing Satine and the palace staff frantically searching meant the initial plan had worked and everything was on schedule, which meant his payment would be arriving soon to his home on Raxus. All he had to do was sit back, not attract any attention to himself and get off of Sundari where he could easily walk out of this with a commendation from Count Dooku and the rest of the Separatist senate himself. He hid back a small smile and leaned back against the wall as he watched the Duchess give more orders to the guards.

Satine felt something buzz in her dress pocket. Her heart skipped a beat again as she put her hand in her pocket and enclosed the old comm device in her hand. It had been ages since she’d received any kind of communication alert from this link and only one other person had the other linked device.

“Áine, make sure everyone is taken care of. I’m just going to the safety corridor for a moment,” Satine said before walking into the safety hallway and closing the blast door. She quickly pushed a stray hair out from her face before pulling out the little transmitter and placing it on the floor.

After the push of a button, a scaled holoimage of the well-groomed, punctual Jedi master projected from the comm. Satine swallowed nervously as she took in his image and immediately felt ripples through her belly at the sight of him. His hair had grown longer and wavier since they had last talked and he wore different robes that looked more Jedi-like than battle wear. Despite the slight wrinkles that were starting to form around his eyes and the peak of gray hairs near his ears, he was still as handsome as ever… even with the worried expression on his face.

“Duchess,” he said with a frantic voice. “Is everything alright? I felt a disturbance in the Force and from the bond I share with my Padawan and she is not answering her comm. I’ve also received news that there was an explosion at the palace.”

“Yes we have,” Satine said as calmly as she could. “The guards are assessing the situation but until then the palace is under…”

Satine was interrupted when a guard stormed into the office with the latest update. “Your highness, Korkie is nowhere to be found. We believe the explosion was a diversion to kidnap him.”

Satine’s heart sank further down in her chest at the news as Obi-Wan began to stroke his beard and think. Someone had taken her life, her blood and the last living part of her. What could they possibly want with him?

“We have reason to believe the Jedi Padawan was with Korkie and tried to defend him in the process but their presence disappears from the infrared scanners shortly after the explosion,” the guard finished.

Obi-Wan turned back toward Satine and studied her closely, worry starting to fill his eyes. Her face was painted with worry and confusion. Obi-Wan wanted to tell her that as long as Sabra was with Korkie everything would be fine, until he realized Sabra’s lightsaber was hung securely on his belt next to his.

“Thank you,” Satine said. “Join the other guards and begin searching immediately.” Satine rubbed her eyes as she turned back to Obi-Wan, the guards leaving her and the hologram alone in the hallway. She looked at him with worried pleading eyes, eyes that Obi-Wan hadn’t seen since they were on the run or on _The Coronet_ confessing their feelings. Satine opened her mouth to say something but Obi-Wan got to it first, uncrossing his arms to look at Satine.

“I’ll board a transport to Mandalore immediately,” he said and ended the transmission before Satine could object.

***

The last thing Sabra remembered was the second the door slammed closed, a needle was sticking out of her neck, injecting a relaxer into her bloodstream causing her to pass out. After her eyelids glued themselves shut, she didn’t feel when her body was lifted out of the speeder by the assassin droids and further into the hidden storage facility.

She wearily opened her eyes and looked around at her surroundings. She was tied up to a thick pillar of some kind. They were in what looked to be a long forgotten warehouse with crates stacked all the way up to the ceiling. Remnants of dust and feces rodents were pushed up against the small crevices and corners around them. She stretched her neck and legs the best she could despite being bound, spreading her arms out from underneath the tight chains to see how far she could move. She couldn’t lift up her arms, but as she wrapped them backwards around the pillar, she felt another set of hands behind her.

She looked over to her left to see Korkie’s legs sticking out from the chains, loose and relaxed which meant he was still passed out.

There was a dim light that shown over top of a control panel that faced the bound prisoners. Sabra sighed as she became fully conscious again, wondering how she would get them out of this one. If the job was done right, she and Korkie may not have been found missing for hours, and even if they were realized to be missing, it would take ages for guards to search every crate and garage of this warehouse district, especially if no one was around as they were flying in.

Sabra stretched again, her hands finding either of Korkie’s and gripping his fingers and pinching the outsides. Korkie cried out in pain, jerking his arms underneath the chains and tugging on them while choking Sabra in the process.

“Gah, Korkie, it’s OK it was just me!” she cried, taking in deep breaths when the chains finally loosened and she could breath again. “I had to wake you up, we were drugged.”

Korkie took in his surroundings, looking around nervously until he saw Sabra’s boots from the corner of his eyes.

“I don’t remember a think,” he said groggily, spreading out his arms to stretch his chest. “I remember you coming to the garden, and then after that it’s all a blur.”

Sabra looked around, thoughts running quickly to try and create a plan of escape. “Last I remember was we were kidnapped from the palace gardens, and then forced onto a speeder where we were flown to an unpopular sector of the warehouse district. Then we were drugged.”

Korkie let out a kind of grunt of acknowledgement as he tried to shift underneath the tight chains. “Excellent,” he said. “This is probably normal for you, right? Getting bombarded by droids and kidnapped and tied to a pole?”

Sabra chuckled. “You have no idea,” she said. “But I think I can find a way to get us out of here. These abandoned warehouses have junk everywhere we can use.”

The sound of a door’s hydrolocks opened and three official looking Death Watch soldiers walked into the room. The one in front had decorative wings near the ear pieces and a detailed emblem on the forehead. The two soldiers on either side of him had less extravagant designs, but looked more superior than a typical soldier.

“Well, the kids have woken up from their afternoon nap I see,” the leader said. He walked over to Korkie first, kneeling down and running a hand through his blonde hair. “You both are going to be hidden away here for a long time.”

Korkie wiggled his head out of the leader’s hands. “You’re making a huge mistake!” Korkie spat. “My aunt will be tearing the city apart to find us and you and your goons will be banished from Mandalore once again!”

The leader looked back at his two henchmen and laughed out loud.

“Oh kid, you’re truly adorable,” the leader said, removing his helmet to reveal Pre Vizla, freshly shaved and in the flesh. “Ah yes, sit tight young one.” Vizla stood up and walked over to Sabra, who had turned her head away. “And the Jedi. I can’t seem to be getting enough of you guys lately.” Vizla grabbed Sabra’s face and forced her to look at him.

“You’re just the extra cargo,” he said looking over her face. “We can keep you or we can dispose of you, but either way, no one on Mandalore will pay attention to a missing Padawan as they would for one of the last living members of Clan Kryze.”

Vizla stood up, using his knee to jab Sabra in the chest, knocking the wind out of her, the armored plating sending the chains deep into her skin through her clothes. He pointing to one of the henchmen.

“You! Take the two prisoners into the communications room,” Vizla said starting to walk away toward the door. “We need to send a message to Duchess Satine and put a little pressure on her and her final decisions that she needs to make.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think about Satine's side of the story? What do you think about the chapter and where the story is going overall?
> 
> We're coming to the final few chapters of this story, I suspect maybe two or three more for this story before it's all done!
> 
> R&R are always welcome. See you guys soon!


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